Arcus's Pokémon Journey - season 1(rewrite)
by Kamen Rider Cross
Summary: AU. What if the Jewel of Life was actually Arceus's unborn son. What happens when Arceus sends his son to the time when Ash had gotten Pikachu? Join Arcus as he starts his journey with Ash, meeting new friends along the way as he grows to live up to his name "The Son of Arceus". Rated M for lemons. Multiple pairings. PS: This is the newest rewrite of (The journey begins- season 1).
1. Prologue

**Prologue: Jewel of Life**

 **Me: Looks like I'm back in the Pokémon side of Fanfiction again, I guess. Anyway, thank you for all of your patience and sorry for the major delay, readers of my past Pokémon stories and fans of Arcus. Welcome to the next rewrite of "The journey begins - season 1".**

 **Unfortunately, for the other two polls, they had lesser votes compared to this one. So please enjoy this new rewrite, with a major modification that has been added to it.** **But before we head into, I'll tell you something first. There won't be quite a lot of lemons in this story because of the reason that you will know when you read it, also I'm getting a bit rusty at it. Also, this season combines both the Kanto and the Orange Islands. So, on with the disclaimer.**

 **Arcus: No, no, no! You're still going to pay for what you're going to do to me! *Charges up Flare Blitz***

 **Me: Shit! Someone, anyone, get to the disclaimer and make it quick!**

 **Angel: *Rolls eyes* Boys *sighs* They always fight. Anyway, on with the disclaimer.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon but I do own Arcus and any other OCs in this story.**

* * *

 **Prologue:**

There Arceus stood, body rested on the ground, his head facing the sky. Rain was pouring down, making the whole atmosphere feel depressing. Arceus then opened his eyes and stood on his four legs, revealing his body as it brightened.

His body resembled a white equine with a gray, vertically-striated underside. The striated pattern has similar recurrences on the underside of his mane, tail, and face. His four pointed feet are tipped with gold hooves. Arceus had a long mane juts away from his head, and his face is gray, with green eyes and red pupils, and a green circular pattern below his eyes. Arceus also has a streak of gold coloration on his head, and ears that point upward.

His neck is fairly long, with two pairs of extrusions to the sides, and a flap-like feature on the neck's underside that is colored white like much of the body. Arceus also has a golden cross-like wheel attached to his body by his round abdomen. The wheel also has four jewels attached to it. The pattern of striated gray of Arceus's underbelly resumes past Arceus's waist. His limbs have gray undersides and extrusions at the tops of his legs. Arceus's tail is fairly like his mane in shape and coloration.

Arceus looked down towards the ground, where a transparent green sphere stared back at him. Within the sphere, energy was swirling in a circular motion.

The Alpha Pokémon shifted himself as his gigantic form began to shrink down. When he had shrunk down to human-size, his entire body glowed as he stood on his hind legs, which began to morph into legs. The wheel attached to his body had split and curled down as his mane and tail disappeared. As the glow faded, it revealed that Arceus had turned into a human. His white hair covered his eyes and he flicked it to the side, revealing that his left eye was covered by grayish bandages that travelled down to his chest.

He bent down and gently picked up the sphere. Arceus smiled gently at it. "To think that it has been years since you were still the Jewel of Life, the source of human cultivation. Then you were returned to me by the boy named Ash Ketchum and his friends. Now, you are given the chance to live, as a Pokémon and...my son."

Tears began to develop in his right eye as he continued. "You shall be raised by Ash Ketchum. He may be a pain for you at first, but you'll come to understand him soon. Learn from him. Learn about compassion, love, responsibility and the bonds between Trainer and Pokémon."

Before Arceus could say anything else, the energy within the Jewel of Life suddenly formed a silhouette of a small foetus. A smile of joy formed on the Alpha Pokémon's face as he embraced the Jewel of Life. "You are going to make a fine Pokémon, son. I couldn't be more proud of you. But our time has come short."

Looking back up, Arceus spotted a sign: Pallet Town.

Smiling, he made his way towards the direction that the sign had pointed to, hands holding the Jewel of Life tightly, protecting it from the rain.

* * *

 **In Pallet Town:**

As the rain continued pouring down, Professor Oak had to return the Pokémon to their Pokéballs. He was enjoying it too. The happy faces of Pokémon playing with one another, the cheerful sounds of Pokémon chanting. Looks like he will have to wait till the rain stopped.

"Char~" Came the voice of an orange lizard-like Pokémon who's tail had a flame at the tip of it.

Professor Oak turned to the Pokémon and smiled. "I'm sorry, Charmander. It seems that this sudden rain has cut your playtime short. You'll have to wait till tomorrow until you can go out and play again. Right now, you'll have to go back to your Pokéball." The Charmander hung its head low as it walked away sadly. Professor Oak sighed. "When will that translator be constructed? I've waited years for it! And when will this rain stop?"

Just as he said that, there was a knock on his door. Professor Oak looked at the door with a raised eyebrow. "Who could be here at this hour? Better yet, who could be here in this weather?" He approached the door and straightened himself as he opened the door slightly. Professor Oak peeked out of the door and he saw Arceus standing there, soaked by the rain.

The professor opened the door and he looked at Arceus. "My goodness! Why are you standing out here in the rain, sir?"

"Are you the one everyone calls Professor Oak?" Arceus asked, ignoring the professor's question.

Professor Oak nodded. "Yes, I am. But you haven't answered my question. Why are you out in the rain?" Again, he was ignored. Arceus said nothing as he gently pushed the professor aside while he entered the house. "Excuse me! I asked you a question."

"I'm terribly sorry, professor," Arceus spoke as he looked towards the professor. "The rain just brings more sorrow to me the more I stood there."

"But why?" Professor Oak asked. "Why is the rain bringing you sorrow? What could you have possibly done to receive it?"

Arceus shook his head. "It is not what I have done, professor. It is what I am about to do." The Alpha Pokémon stretched his hands out and placed the Jewel of Life onto the table in front of him. "I am here to hand this over to a future Pokémon Trainer, professor."

Professor Oak gazed at the Jewel of Life with his mouth agape and his eyes widened. "W-what is it?"

"It is an Egg, professor. A rare one-of-a-kind Pokémon Egg," Arceus replied with sadness in his tone. "I'm giving this Egg to a specific trainer, who will become a wonderful Pokémon Trainer in the future."

"Oh! Do you mean my grandson, Gary?" Professor Oak asked with a hint of excitement in him.

The Alpha Pokémon sweat dropped as he shook his head. "Uh...no. I meant the boy by the name of Ash Ketchum."

"Ash?" The professor repeated. "Why him? Sure, he's an enthusiastic boy. But him? Last I checked, he couldn't make it on time for almost anything important."

Arceus nodded. "You're underestimating the boy, professor. He'll prove to you himself that he's a wonderful trainer. When he grows a little more mature, that is to say." He looked towards the Jewel of Life and smiled. "This egg means a lot to me. It's been through the worst and has witness miracles. I'm sure that Ash Ketchum will raise it well. I have faith that he will."

Professor Oak sighed and nodded. "If that's what you request, then I can't say no. But can I have your name? I'm sure that Ash might know who you are if you give me your name."

Smiling, the Alpha Pokémon replied. "My name is a secret. But you can call me "A". By the way, that Egg, if it hatches and it's a boy, name it Arcus. That is all I ask for." With that, Arceus made his way towards the door. But he returned a smile to the professor as he left.

The professor stared at the Jewel of Life and gently picked it up. "Hmm...I must say, I've never seen a Pokémon lay this kind of Egg before. And it's transparent as well! I wonder what kind of Pokémon it could be, though. I wonder if this "A" is still out there. Maybe I could ask him." Unfortunately for him, Arceus was long gone by the time he had opened the door. He looked around and sighed as he closed the door. "Looks like I'm just going to have to call this Pokémon as Arcus for the time being."

As the professor set it back down, he froze, remembering a certain detail that Arceus had left out. "Wait a minute...what if it's a girl?"

Unknown to him, Arceus was watching from above. He was perched on the rooftop as he watched the professor. The Alpha Pokémon nodded with satisfaction when the professor went back into the house and he leapt down from the roof and onto the patch of grass. As he got up, Arceus dusted himself before he made his way out of Pallet Town. "Grow up well, Arcus."

* * *

 **Me: There's the end of that prologue. Now head over to the next chapter!**

 **Arcus: Stop right there! I'm not through with you yet, you jerk!**

 **Me: Oh well. It was nice knowing you guys. Now I am going to run for my life. See you next chapter!**

 **Ella: When am I going to appear?**

 **Me & Arcus: You're not in this story until Eliza escapes Team Rocket!**

 **Ella: *Pouts* You meanies...**

 **Me: Anyway, please move on to the next chapter.**


	2. Chapter 1: Ash Ketchum and Pikachu

**Chapter 1: Ash Ketchum and Pikachu**

 **Me: Looks like I'm in the clear for now. So I have some time to talk about some stuff for this chapter until Arcus comes to get me. Good thing my Fairy Tail story's OC is keeping him busy.**

 **Arcus: (Outside of room) Stay back you demon! I have Flamethrower and I'm not afraid to use it! Stay back I say! Go back to the back of Cross's mind, damn it! CURSE YOU, CROSS!**

 **Me: *Smile* Ah~ it's good to have someone to protect me. And it cost me a long time of writing! Anyway, this chapter is going to be a chapter where episode 1 of Pokémon: The Indigo League. Why that instead of 2 episodes? Let's just say that I've been rusty with Pokémon lately. Besides that, on with the disclaimer.**

 **Disclaimer: I** **do not own Pokémon but I do own Arcus and any other OCs in this story.**

* * *

It has been a week since Arceus paid a visit to Professor Oak's house and left behind the Jewel of Life. During that one week, the professor struggled to figure out what kind of Pokémon was within the Jewel of Life. After all, Arceus had never mention the type of Pokémon that it is. But no matter how hard that the professor tried, he just couldn't figure out the Pokémon. It was as if the Pokémon was a complete mystery to him. An entirely new species of Pokémon.

"Tomorrow's the day the new trainers pick their new Pokémon," Professor Oak said to himself as he prepared the three Starter Pokéballs. "But to think that I have a mysterious Pokémon egg with me and I have to give it up as well. That is just sad..."

Then, the professor gently picked up the Jewel of Life with his hands and brought it closer to him. "I wonder if Ash is even going to be able to take care of you, little guy. I'm worried about you. I think he might even leave you behind! If that happens, I wonder how will A react when he finds out about it." He shuddered at the thought and placed the Jewel of Life back on the table.

Professor Oak stretched himself and yawned. "Well, I guess it's time for a good night's rest. I wonder what kind of Pokémon Gary is going to get." The professor gave himself a shrug as he made his way to his room. Unknown to him, the Jewel of Life was glowing.

* * *

Somewhere else in Pallet Town, even though the night was already getting late, a young boy by the name of Ash Ketchum was still up and about.

The boy wore a cap that was red and white with an opened beak-like symbol. He donned a blue and white vest jacket with a black shirt and a pair of blue jeans. On his hands, Ash had green fingerless-gloves.

Currently, he was watching a Pokémon battle between two trainers on his television. _"_ _Now that I'm ten, I can finally get my Pokémon license. I will journey to gain the wisdom of Pokémon training and I hereby declare that the Pokémon of the world, I will become a Pokémon master!"_ Ash thought as he grabbed a clock which resembled a Voltorb and held it proudly in his hand as if he was holding a real Pokéball. That was until...

"Ash! Get to bed!"

When he heard that feminine voice, he lost his balance and his lost his grip on his clock, accidentally tossing it towards his door. The door, however, was opened and standing by the door was Ash's mother, who caught the clock. The clock then split, showing the 12 numbers and a small Pidgey. "It's eleven O'clock and you should be asleep."

"But tomorrow's the day I begin my Pokémon journey. I can't sleep," Ash whined.

His mother then grabbed the remote and changed the channel on the television. "If you can't sleep, you should at least get ready for tomorrow. Here, watch professor Oak's lecture."

The channel switched from the match that Ash was watching to the Pallet Town's lab with Professor Oak standing in front of the camera and a board behind him with pictures of Charmander, Bulbasaur and Squirtle. Professor Oak started. "Good evening Pallet, tomorrow's the big day for the newest class of Pokémon students. I'd like to introduce you to Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle." He pointed to the three pictures of the Pokémon he just said and he continued. "Each one is available for new trainees. Which one shall you choose?"

"Alright, it's time to go to bed when this is done," Ash's mother reminded as she headed out of the room.

Ash, still engrossed with the show, replied. "Alright. I'm going."

His mother left the room and continued. "Make sure you change into your pyjamas too."

"I'm going to do that," Ash replied as his door closed. An hour later, Ash was already on his bed, fast asleep, dreaming of the Pokémon he would get the next day. "Raising Bulbasaur...might be rather simple. It's perfect...for beginners," Ash muttered. "Then there's Squirtle..." At that moment, his Voltorb clock fell onto his hand. "Choose it or lose it...hold on, Charmander...those in the 'no' say that's the best way to go..."

* * *

Morning soon came as a Dodrio stood on the top of a house's rooftop and screeched (like a rooster).

"I choose you, Charmander!" Ash cried out unconsciously as he tossed his clock at the wall, while he's asleep no less. As soon as the clock crashed and broke, Ash instantly jerked up and gasped as sweat poured down his face. Then, he looked towards the window and his eyes widened. "Oh no! What time is it?!" The young soon-to-be Pokémon Trainer scrambled out of his bed and fell onto the ground.

"Oh no, no, no, no! I'm LATE!" Ash shrieked as he got to his feet and rushed out of his room.

He ran down the stairs, jumping the last few steps to save time, before putting on his shoes and dashing out of the house. "Oh...I hope there's still a Pokémon left for me...Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Charmander. Any of those will be fine, just save one for me, professor!"

* * *

 **In Professor Oak's lab:**

Professor Oak grinned as he picked up the Jewel of Life. "Today's the big day, little fella. Your new Trainer will be here soon to get you and his first Pokémon, as long as he doesn't get here late." He sighed at the last part as he placed the Jewel of Life back down again. The professor turned to the clock and made his way to the door in his living room. "Alright then, time for the new Trainers to come in!"

As he reached the doors, the professor slowly pulled its handle and the door creaked open, allowing the sunlight to invade the inside of the lab as well as loud cheering from the outside. Once the doors were fully opened, the cheers grew louder as Professor Oak looked down to see a young boy with spiky auburn hair wearing a purple long sleeved shirt, blue jeans and a necklace around his neck.

"Gary! I'm glad to see you here! You're as punctual as ever!" Professor Oak beamed as Gary walked towards him.

The boy smiled. "Of course I am, grandpa! It's the day that I become a Pokémon Trainer and soon-to-be Pokémon Master! Why would I be late for this?!"

The professor nodded. "I'm glad you know that, Gary. So, are the other new Trainers here as well?"

Gary nodded. "Yeah, the other two are here. Ash is no where to be seen as usual, of course."

Professor Oak sighed and shook his head. "Well, I guess since most of you are here, I can give you your Pokémon first. Come along now."

"Alright! Time to get my first Pokémon!" Gary exclaimed as he and two other boys followed Professor Oak into the lab.

Once they had reached the lab, the professor and the boys gathered around a small capsule where three Pokéballs were placed inside, viewed from the outside by a glass cover. Professor Oak flipped a switch, causing the glass cover to split and retract back into the capsule. "These are the three Starter Pokémon that you three are allowed to choose from. I hope you have chosen wisely which Pokémon you will be having because once you receive them, there is no way you can switch them afterwards."

Two of the boys glanced at each other and back at the Pokéballs hesitantly, surprised by what they have heard. Gary, on the other hand, simply smiled and picked one of the Pokéballs. "I know that already, grandpa. I've already decided who's going to be my Pokémon and I know that it's the best! Squirtle, come out here!"

As Gary tossed the Pokéball up into the air, it opened up and a beam of light emerged from it before hitting the ground and forming Squirtle's silhouette. When the light had faded, Squirtle smiled and Gary picked it up in his arms. "You're my new Pokémon now, Squirtle. You and I are going to be the greatest pair and you'll help me become the greatest Pokémon Master ever!"

"Squirtle! Squirtle!" Cried the happy Pokémon as it waved its arms in joy before it was absorbed back into the Pokéball.

Once the other two boys had picked their own Pokémon, the professor brought out 15 more Pokéballs and 3 Pokédex. He handed each of the boys 5 Pokéballs and a Pokédex before moving on with a small talk. "Each of you have received your extra Pokéballs, which is what you need to catch your first team of Pokémon, should you ever come across any of the wonderful creatures and hope to train them for yourself. Other than that, your Pokédex is your little helpers. Each of your Pokédex have your ID in them and they will give you any information you need on any Pokémon you come across soon."

"This is awesome!" Gary grinned as he kept his new equipment in his pockets. "Can I go yet, grandpa? I can't wait to start!"

Professor Oak nodded. "Yes, yes. You can all go now. I won't hold you back. Your journey has only begun."

The boys smiled at him as they turned away, heading back to the living room. Gary, however, stops and noticed the Jewel of Life on desk. He turns back to the professor and asked. "Grandpa, what cha' got there? I didn't see it before."

"It's something that I'm keeping for someone," replied the professor. "He came here yesterday and handed it to me, telling me to give it to the Trainer that he specifically asked for."

"What is it then? And who's the Trainer?" Gary asked, walking closer to the Jewel of Life.

Professor Oak placed a hand on Gary, stopping him from getting any closer to the Jewel of Life and replied. "It's a rare Pokémon Egg, Gary. One that I have never seen or heard of before, until now. The Trainer that I was asked to give it to is none other than Ash Ketchum."

"WHAT?!" Gary gasped, eyes widened. "You mean to tell me that loser is getting something this rare?!"

Shrugging, the professor spoke. "I promised him that I would give it to Ash and I'm keeping it. I know Ash could be...well...a pain some times. But I guess you're going to have to accept it, Gary. Ash is getting this Egg and that's final."

Gary gritted his teeth. _'Why that little...how did he even get somebody to give THIS to him? If I can't have it, I'm just going to have to find another one of it when I get the chance!'_

Professor Oak noticed Gary's changed expression and sighed. "I know what you're thinking, Gary. But I suggest you give it up. The person who gave the Egg to me said that this is a one-of-a-kind, meaning that there isn't any more other than this one."

Gary didn't reply back. His face hung low in anger and envy as he headed towards the living room. "Whatever. At least I still have you in the Pokémon business, grandpa," said the boy as he gave the professor one last smile before heading off.

* * *

"Gary! Gary! He's our man! If he can't do it, no one-AHH!"

"Sorry! Excuse me!" Ash said as he pushed through the girls who were cheering for Gary, who had walked out of the lab. Ash turned, but it was too late as he bumped into Gary, knocking himself down.

Gary grumbled as he dusted himself. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" He soon realized that it was Ash and he grew a smug look on his face. "Well, hello, Ash. Better late than never, I guess. At least you got the chance to meet me."

As Ash got back up, he looked at the grandson of Professor Oak and spoke. "Gary?"

"It's Mr. Gary, to you! Show some respect!" Gary replied as he placed his hands on his hips. "Well Ash, you snooze you lose and you're way behind right from the start. I've got a Pokémon and you don't."

"Y-you got your first Pokémon?" Ash asked, sounding worried. Not for Gary, but for himself as thoughts of Gary having the same first Pokémon as he is when he chooses swarmed through his mind.

Gary scoffed and brought out his Pokéball containing Squirtle. "That's right, loser. And it's right inside this Pokéball!" The crowd soon started clapping as the girls began cheering Gary once more. Gary smiled and raised both of his hands up as he waved to the crowd. "Thank you, fans! Thank you all for this great honor! I promise you that I will become a Pokémon Master and make the town of Pallet known all over the world!" The crowd cheered as the claps grew louder.

"Excuse me?" Ash started, gaining Gary's attention. "I was just wondering if you could tell me what kind of Pokémon you got?"

Gary snickered. "None of your business! If you had showed up on time, you would have seen that I've got the best Pokémon from Professor Oak! It's good to have a grandfather in the Pokémon business, isn't it?" Gary stuffed his Pokéball back into his pocket and shoved past Ash as he made his way towards a red car, parked on the road. As he got on the rear of the car, Gary turned to wave to the crowd once more. "Thank you for coming out to see history in the making. Now I, Gary Oak, am off to learn the ways of a Pokémon Trainer!" His car began moving forward, and so did the crowd, leaving Ash all by himself outside of the gate.

Balling his hands into fists, Ash grumbled. "I'll show you..."

"So," Professor Oak began as he stood behind Ash. "You decided to show up after all."

Ash turned and gasped. "Oh! Professor Oak! Where's my Pokémon?"

"Your Pokémon?"

Ash nodded. "Yes! I'm ready!"

Professor Oak chuckled as he looked at the boy up and down. "You look like you're ready for bed! Not for Pokémon training. I hope you don't think you're going to train in your pyjamas."

"Oh no, professor," Ash shook his head. "I got messed up this morning and I was a little late. But believe me, I'm ready for a Pokémon!"

The professor sighed. "Oh well, I guess you won't leave until you get your Pokémon anyway. Follow me, Ash."

"Alright!" Ash cheered as he followed the professor up the stairs towards the professor's lab.

* * *

Once they were in the lab, the two had stopped at the same capsule from before, where the glass cover opened up once again.

"I've thought about it a lot and it took me a long time. But I've finally decided to choose Squirtle!" Ash said as he picked up one of the Pokéballs and opened it, only to find it empty, much to his surprise.

"Already taken by someone who was on time," Professor Oak replied.

Ash sighed and placed the Pokéball back in the capsule before he picked up the another one. "I wish I haven't overslept. But now I will choose as my Pokémon, Bulbasaur!" Similar to the previous Pokéball, it was empty the moment Ash opened it up.

"That one was also taken by a kid who wasn't late," Professor Oak added.

Disappointed, Ash placed the empty Pokéball back onto the capsule and reached out for the last one. "Well, that's no problem. Because my Pokémon will be Charmander!" Again, the Pokéball came out empty.

"The early bird gets the worm, or in this case...uh...the Pokémon," Professor Oak continued.

Ash faced the professor with a saddened look. "Does this mean all the Pokémon are gone?"

Professor Oak swallowed, scratching his chin as well. "W-well, there is still one more Pokémon left but I..."

"Professor, I'll take it!" Ash interrupted.

The professor blinked. "Are you sure about that, Ash?" The boy simply nodded and Professor Oak sighed. "I guess I have no choice..." The professor flipped a different switch this time and in the middle of the capsule, a small hole appeared before a Pokéball emerged from it. On it's top was a small lightning bolt symbol. Professor Oak picked up the Pokéball and tuned towards Ash. "I think I should warn you, there IS a problem with this last one."

"I HAVE to have a Pokémon!" Ash insisted.

Hesitantly, the professor handed the Pokéball to him. "Well, in that case..."

The Pokéball opened, releasing a blast of energy from it which quickly formed the silhouette of a small Pokémon with a pair of pointed ears and a lightning bolt-shaped tail. As the light began to fade, the Pokémon in question became much more visible and clearer. The Pokémon was a short, chubby rodent Pokémon. It was covered in yellow fur, and its ears had black tips. It had a small mouth, brown eyes, and two red circles on its cheeks. Its forearms are short, with five fingers on each paw, and its feet had three toes. It has two brown stripes on its back, and its lightning bolt-shaped tail a patch of brown fur at the base.

The Pokémon shook itself and blinked as it looked up at the two humans. "Pikachu."

"It's name is Pikachu, Ash," Professor Oak smiled.

Ash beamed. "It's so cute, it's the best of all!"

"You'll see..." muttered the professor.

As Ash picked up the Pokémon, he hugged it. "Hi, Pikachu!"

Pikachu, annoyed by the boy carrying him, grew furious as sparks of electricity began appearing around its cheeks. Before Ash knew it, he had become the center of attraction, as a conductor of electricity, so to say as he was engulfed in electricity.

"It's also known as a Electric Mouse. It's usually shy, but can some time have an electrifying personality," Professor Oak said.

"I see what you mean," Ash replied as the electricity around him faded away.

"Shocking, isn't it?" Professor Oak nodded. The professor then made his way to his desk where he grabbed 5 extra Pokéballs and a Pokédex and made his way back to Ash and handed them to him. "You're Pokédex and Pokéballs."

"Thank...YYOOOOUUUU!" Ash cried out as he was yet again blasted with another round of Electricity by Pikachu. This time, the professor was caught in it as well since Ash had placed his hand on the Pokéballs, which were still on Professor Oak's hands.

"YYYYOOOUU'RRREEE WWWWELLLLCCCCOOOMME!" Professor Oak replied, still being zapped by the attack.

Once it had stopped, the professor collapsed onto the ground and so did Ash. Professor Oak groaned as he rubbed his head. "This is why I only have 3 starter Pokémon..." He placed his hand on the capsule and lifted himself up before making his way back to his desk again to pick up the Jewel of Life. "One more thing, Ash. It seems that someone has sent you a little gift yesterday."

"For me?" Ash asked as Professor Oak handed the Jewel of Life to him. "What is it?"

"It's a Pokémon Egg, Ash," replied the professor. "A person who calls himself "A" told me to give it to you. Do you know anybody by that name?"

Ash shook his head. "Not a clue, professor. But whoever he is, I'm going to thank him for it! A Pokémon Egg, just for me? I don't think any other Pokémon Trainers got one when they got their first Pokémon."

"Well, that's true," said the professor as the two made their way out of the lab with Pikachu in Ash's arms, who was staring at the Jewel of Life.

As the two headed out of the door, they soon saw a small group of people, cheering along as Ash came out with Pikachu. "Mom?"

"Oh Ash, I'm so proud of you!" Ash's mother beamed as Ash placed Pikachu down. "You're finally going to fulfil your dream and start your Pokémon training. But I'm...I'm going to miss you so much...my little boy!" Before Ash knew it, his mother was sobbing onto a bag she was holding, probably the bag that she must have prepared for him.

"Pikachu?" said the little Pokémon as it walked up to Ash's side.

Ash's mother began unzipping the bag and placed her hands into it, pulling out the things that she had packed in it and handing them to Ash. "I've packed your sneakers and jeans. Nice, clean shirt and underwear and your favorite snacks and some hot chocolate, in case you want something hot. But be careful not to burn yourself. And a pair of rubber gloves to do your laundry and a new clothesline to hand it up to dry..."

Ash quickly shoves them all back into the bag and yanks it out of his mother's hands. "Mom! You're embarrassing me in front of all these people! Don't you know that I'm a big kid now? Pokémon Trainers can take care of themselves!."

"I understand," replied Ash's mother. Then, she looked down and finally noticed Pikachu. "That's you're Pokémon?"

"Pikachu!" beamed the Mouse Pokémon.

Ash nodded. "That's my Pokémon." Pikachu turned away, causing Ash to sweat drop before he turned to his mother. "With Pikachu at my side, I'll get all the Pokémon in the world!"

"I thought all Pokémon stay INSIDE their Pokéballs. Why doesn't this one?"

Pikachu scoffed as he thought. _'I'm a HE for crying out loud! When will the humans make something that will tell them that?'_

"Oh yeah, right," Ash stammered as he pulled out Pikachu's Pokéball. "Pikachu, get in the ball now." As he tossed it at Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon flings it back at him. Ash narrowed his eyes down at the Pokémon and tossed the ball again, which Pikachu swats back. This continued to repeat again for a few times.

"Aw! You're playing catch! You two are becoming friends already!" Ash's mother smiled, misunderstanding the situation.

Ash turned to his mother for a second before turning back to Pikachu. "Uh...sure." He proceeds to carry the Mouse Pokémon before continuing. "Pikachu and I are real pals, right?"

"But...it's a little weird."

"Weird?" Ash repeated.

Pikachu felt a vein ticked and sparks appeared on his cheeks again before he released a blast of lightning at Ash, his mother and the people, except for Professor Oak, who hid behind the gates. "Those rubber gloves your mother packed will come in handy, Ash."

"Why?" Ash asked.

"Rubber blocks electricity," replied the professor.

At that moment, Pikachu stopped and the attack seized, causing everyone, excluding the professor and Ash, to collapse.

"Don't forget to change your underwear, every single day," Ash's mother said as she struggled to stay awake.

* * *

After a change of clothes, Ash made his way out of Pallet Town and onto the path leading to his next destination, Viridian City. By his side was Pikachu, strapped with a rope around his body while Ash had the rubber gloves on him for protection as he dragged the Pokémon along, who was resisting.

Ash stopped and sighed before turning to his Pokémon. "Pikachu, are you going to be like this the whole way?"

"Pi!" Pikachu snorted as he looked away.

"Is it because you don't like me?" Ash asked, earning a nod from Pikachu. "Well I like you a lot! And since you're the Pokémon I'm training, don't you think you could a little more nicer and just open your mouth and tell me what's wrong?" Pikachu did as he requested, opening his mouth. Ash sighed. "That's not exactly what I meant. Is your name all you can say?"

"Pika," nodded the Mouse Pokémon.

"Well then," Ash replied. "You're just like all Pokémon and you should act like one and get inside the Pokéball, just like it says in the Pokédex."

He pulls out his Pokédex and opens it, turning it on and causing it to display an image of a Pokéball on its screen as it spoke. "While being trained, a Pokémon usually stays inside its Pokéball."

"You see?" Ash smiled. Pikachu scoffed and taps the Pokédex, causing it to continue.

"However, there are many exceptions. Some Pokémon hate being confined."

Ash, now understanding Pikachu's problem a little, gave the Pokémon a nod as he begins to remove the rope from Pikachu's waist before removing the rubber gloves. "Okay then. This will make things better and I'll get rid of the rubber gloves too. How's that?"

Pikachu looks away, still unconvinced.

"Still not good enough?" Pikachu nodded, causing Ash to sigh in defeat. "I hope the Egg doesn't hatch into a Pokémon with your kind of attitude..."

Just then, the pair heard footsteps, causing them to turn, only to see a small, plump-bodied avian Pokémon which was primarily brown with a cream-colored face, underside, and flight feathers. Both its feet and beak are a pinkish-gray color. It has black, angular markings around its eyes and a small crest of brown and cream feathers above its eyes.

"A Pidgey!" Ash exclaimed as he opens his Pokédex.

"Pidgey is a Flying Pokémon. Among all the Flying Pokémon, Pidgey is the gentlest and easiest to capture. A perfect target for the beginning Pokémon Trainer to test his Pokémon's skills."

Ash grinned. "This is great. It's our lucky day! Pikachu, go get it!"

"Chu!" Pikachu turned away, ignoring Ash's command.

The boy grumbles. "Aren't you ever going to listen to me?" Pikachu replied with a shake of its head before running towards a nearby tree and climbing it. "Okay, I get the message! I don't want your help or need it. I can get that thing all by myself!" Setting his bag down at the base of the tree that Pikachu's on, Ash reached for the back of his belt where his other Pokéballs are at and takes one of them out before facing the direction of the Pidgey. "Alright, I pledged to get all the Pokémon in the world. Now I'm ready to take the next step to be the number one Pokémon Master. Enjoy your last moment of freedom, Pidgey! Because you're mine!"

Ash shifts his cap around before he winds up his arm. Then, he tosses the Pokéball at the Pidgey, knocking it on its head. A red glow emitted from the Tiny Bird Pokémon before its body disappeared and letting the red glow return into the Pokéball, capturing the Pidgey. Ash smiled, delighted that he had captured the Pokémon but it was too soon. The Pokéball was still moving, signaling that the Pokémon hasn't been successfully captured and it didn't. Within seconds, Pidgey emerged from the Pokéball while it returned to Ash's hand.

Catching the Pokéball, Ash stared at Pidgey, dumbfounded as it ran off into the tall grass. "I blew it..."

Pikachu couldn't help but laugh at the failed attempt of his 'owner' before he watches Ash pull out the Pokédex.

"To capture a Pokémon, you usually have your own Pokémon battle with the other."

Ash sighed. "Now it tells me." Pikachu fell onto his back, laughing harder than before. Ash glared at the Mouse Pokémon. "But I have to do everything myself!" Then, he looks at his bag. An idea then emerged from his mind and Ash quickly ran over to the bag. "This might work..." He unzips the bag and pushes the items in it aside until he found what he was looking for, his pyjamas.

With his pyjamas in his hands, Ash turned and followed the direction where the Pidgey had ran off to.

Then, he spotted it. Ash slowed down and began tiptoeing towards it. "Okay...just be quiet. There's nothing to be afraid of..." As he neared the Pidgey, it turned, looking straight at him. Ash panicked as he froze. "Hi...little guy..." Then, he lunged forward, dropping his pyjamas onto the Pidgey. "Sorry for this!" For a moment, the Pidgey struggled to break free but then, the pyjamas began expanding as it bloated up before it was flung away from Ash's hands as a small tornado forms from underneath it.

Ash was knocked back by it and he crashed on his back. "What happened?"

His Pokédex answered. "Pidgey's Gust power creates tornadoes. It also has a Sand-Attack."

"SAND?!"

Ash turned, only for a cloud of dust and sand to hit him as the Pidgey took off into the air. "Guess it's not my lucky day..." He turns, hearing Pikachu laughing again but something else had also happened. A small, quadruped rodent Pokémon from rummaging through his bag before peeking out from it. Its most notable feature is its large teeth. It had long whiskers and a long, slightly curled tail. It also had purple fur on its back, and cream fur on its stomach. "Get out of there!" Ash cried. '

The Pokémon scurried away as Ash returned to his bag before it hissed at him. "What was that Pokémon?"

"A Forest Pokémon, Rattata. It likes cheese, nuts, fruits, and berries." The Pokédex replied.

"Yeah, but this isn't a forest!" Ash argued, only for the Pokédex to counter him.

"It also comes out into open fields to steal food from stupid travelers."

Ash blinked. "You mean to tell me that...I'm stupid?" Hearing that, Pikachu burst into laughter again, earning another glare from Ash.

Just then, Ash heard another Pidgey crying out and turned to that direction where he saw three Pidgey emerged from the tall grasses. Ash looks around him and picked up a small pebble and tossed it at the three Pidgey, causing them to fly away. Ash sighed again but his attention to moved towards a shadowed figure across him. He couldn't make out much of its description but he guessed it to be a Pidgey as well considering its head and body was shaped similarly. Ash picks up another pebble and grins. "I'll get you this time..." As he threw it towards the shadowed Pokémon, the pebble hits it on its head, causing a small bruise to sprout from its head.

The Pokémon turned, revealing itself and for Ash to find out that it wasn't a Pidgey. Instead it was a brown avian Pokémon that is very small. It had a rough, brown plumage on its head with a short, hooked beak. Its underside was beige with two thin stripes. Its light pink feet have three talons, and its wings are a pinkish red with lighter edges. The Pokémon's back was black, and it had three brown tail feathers.

Ash stared at it. "I wonder what that is..."

Taking out his Pokédex, it replied. "Unlike Pidgey, Spearow has a terrible attitude. It is very wild and will sometimes attack other Pokémon and humans."

By the time he looked up from the Pokédex, the Spearow was already closing in on him. Ash yelled out and dove head-first onto the ground as Spearow swoops down, missing him by inches. Ash immediately grabs his bag and swings it around, hoping to hit the Pokémon. As the Spearow flies into the air, turns and dives back down, it misses Ash again. This time, however, it catches a glimpse of Pikachu as it ascends up into the air again.

Spearow stops in the air and glared at Pikachu. Before the Mouse Pokémon knew it, the Spearow had changed its target and was heading straight for it. Pikachu ducked as Spearow swoops by it. Pikachu turns around and quickly dodged the second attack from the Spearow.

"Hey! Leave Pikachu alone!" Ash cried. "It didn't throw the rock!"

"Wild Pokémon tend to be jealous of human-trained Pokémon." The Pokédex replied.

As the Spearow swoops by Pikachu for the forth time, the Mouse Pokémon lost his balance and trips, falling off the branch he was standing on but grabs he as it fell off. Pikachu turns to see Spearow coming back again for another attack.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried out as the Spearow flew nearer.

Sparks of electricity appeared on Pikachu's cheek again and Pikachu released the electricity towards Spearow, electrocuting it. Spearow screeched in pain as the attack stops and falls to the ground. It quickly gets back up and turns around before it began screeching. "Spearow!" From across the area, a lone tree stands on top of a small lump of grass-covered land. From the tree, multiple Spearow began appearing from it and they were all heading towards Ash, Pikachu and the Spearow that called to them.

"Uh oh..." Ash muttered. He turns to Pikachu. "S-should we run?" Pikachu gave him a nod, agreeing with him for the first time as they both began running off towards the opposite direction, passing by many more Pokémon along the way. Even after running away from the flock of Spearow, the two didn't expect the Spearow to continue but they did. Ash turns to Pikachu for a moment and spoke. "Don't worry Pikachu. No matter what, I'll save you!" His words of comfort seemed to have backfired him as Pikachu picked up speed, running off farther away from him. "Don't run ahead! I said I'd protect-ow!" Ash was quickly interrupted by a Spearow who pecked his head before flying off towards Pikachu.

Two of the Spearow flew down, close enough to Pikachu and they started pecking at him, as hard as they could.

"Leave it alone, Spearow!" Ash cried as he ran faster.

Pikachu tripped, falling onto the ground as the Spearow all descend towards him and crowding around the Mouse Pokémon. Ash quickly arrives and he pushes a few of the Spearow away and quickly grabs Pikachu, pulling him closer to him as he ran off towards a cluster of bushes. Next thing he knew, he and Pikachu had reached the end of a cliff, leading down to a river below them.

Ash turns back to see the flock of Spearow closing in and he looks down at the river before he sighed. "Here's goes..." Then, he leapt off the cliff, clutching Pikachu tighter as he did.

* * *

Across the river, a young orange-haired girl with a side ponytail which sticks out on the left side of her head, wearing a yellow tank top with red suspenders and light blue denim shorts was sitting on a large rock, fishing in the same river in the opposite location from which Ash and Pikachu had jumped off. The girl was waiting patiently as she watches her fishing rod.

Then, she felt something yanking it, pulling the fishing rod down. The girl quickly grabbed onto the rod and grinned. "Hey! I've got a bite! Wow! I really think this could be a big one!" She gets up and took a deep breath as she pulls the fishing rod as hard as she could. Her effort paid off as she heard the water splashed, which meant that whatever she caught had came out of the water.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

The girl gasped as she saw Ash falling onto the ground, with Pikachu in his arms. She sighed in disappointment. "Nah. It's just a kid. Oh! And a Pokémon!" She drops her fishing rod and jumps off the rock as she knelt down beside the pair. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Ash replied.

The girl frowns. "Not you! Look what you done to the poor little thing! Is it breathing?"

"Uh...I...I think so," Ash said.

"Well just don't sit there!" The girl cried. "It needs a doctor right away! There's a medical center not to far away from here. You've got to get moving now!"

Ash got up, with Pikachu in his arms. "You mean a hospital?"

"Yes, for Pokémon!" The girl replied.

"Can you tell me which way should I go?"

The girl points to the road up ahead and replied. "That way." Then, the two turned towards the river, where the flock of Spearow from before came into view.

Ash swallowed. "They're coming back! I've gotta hurry!" Ash turns around and quickly spotted a bike near them and he runs over to the bike and places Pikachu in the basket on the bike's front.

"Hey! What are you doing?" The girl asked.

"I'm borrowing this!" Ash replied, taking off with Pikachu and the bike, leaving the girl behind.

"That's my bike!" The girl cried out but it was too late. Ash had already speed away. The girl sighed. "I'm just going to have to walk to Viridian City to get it back then." At that moment, she noticed something on the ground where Ash was standing on before he had took off, the Jewel of Life. She approached it and picked it up. "This is something you don't see everyday. I wonder what this is. Must be some sort of Pokéball I've never seen before or something." The girl grips the Jewel of Life tightly as she could while making her way up the small slope before taking off towards Viridian City.

* * *

As Ash continues down the road on the girl's bike, the sky was beginning to turn dark as thunders could be heard and dark clouds started forming. But it didn't stop the boy as he kept pedalling, never stopping. "Just hand on, Pikachu. We're almost there!" Then, the rain began.

"Spearow!"

Before Ash knew it, the flock of Spearow was already surrounding him and Pikachu. Two of them flew closer and pecked at Ash's head, causing him to turn away and riding the bike off a small edge. As they landed, the bike tilted and crashed onto the ground, sending Pikachu and Ash flying. Ash groaned as he blinked, looking at Pikachu, who was lying on his side, staring back at him. Ash crawls over to him, placing a hand on his cheek. "Pikachu...this can't happen...

He pulled out Pikachu's Pokéball and brought it closer to Pikachu. "Come on, get inside. I know you're afraid of going in there but if you're inside, maybe I can save you. Please Pikachu. Please listen to me and go inside. After that then...just trust me!" Ash placed the Pokéball in front of Pikachu as he got to his feet and turned to face the flock of Spearow.

"Spearow! Do you know who I am? I'm Ash from the town of Pallet. I'm destined to become the world's number one Pokémon Master. I can't be defeated by the likes of you. I'm going to capture and defeat you all! Do you hear me!"

Ash turns his head towards Pikachu and whispered to him. "Pikachu, go inside the Pokéball. It's the only way to keep you save."

Pikachu gazed at Ash. The boy had his arms spread out defensively. He was protecting him from the Spearow! At first, Pikachu thought that he was just doing it to gain his trust. But now, he was seeing a new side of Ash. Something that he hadn't display up till now. Just then, Pikachu's eyes widened as a flash appeared in his eyes. Before Pikachu realized it, he was staring at the memory of the Jewel of Life back when he was still in Professor Oak's lab. Pikachu remembered seeing something in it that caught his eyes. Right away, he knew that it was something special and powerful. Now, it finally realized what it was.

 _'The son of Arceus...'_ Pikachu thought as he saw the memory of the Jewel of Life change. The foetus inside it began to glow, and the light it was releasing snapped Pikachu back to reality.

As the Spearow all dove down towards Ash, Pikachu looked into the sky, seeing a faint glow coming from the clouds. It was a split-second decision but he had decided. Pikachu got up and ran towards Ash, climbing his feet and onto his back where he stopped at Ash's shoulder before jumping off towards the flock of Spearow. Then, a bolt of lightning struck the Mouse Pokémon, charging him up as he began releasing the energy from the lightning bolt at the Spearow in the form of an enlarging sphere which knocks everyone back.

* * *

 **Me: Well, that concludes the chapter for the day. And again, readers who have read the original version of this, sorry this came VERY late than what I had promised.**

 **Arcus: Don't worry, guys. I'll be sure to kick Cross's ass when I get away from the damn Shinigami!**

 **Me: All I know is that I'm becoming more busy now that this is published. Anyway, please leave your review for what you think of this new rewrite! And who else is pumped up for** **Pokémon GO? I know I am.**


	3. Chapter 2: Team Rocket debut

**Chapter 2: Team Rocket debut**

 **Me: *Lies down on bed, sleeping* Huh? What? We're up already?**

 **Arcus: Yes, genius. We're up for the second chapter. So, what do you think of this so far? Ready to quit just like the last one yet?**

 **Me: Hmm...we'll see. But I'm positive that we'll make it through without quitting this time.**

 **Arcus: You do realize that you said that in the previous rewrite, right? Even if you did rephrase it, I'm still sure you might quit. What will happen then?**

 **Me: Well, you could always come into my dreams and try to murder me until I continue. It worked for this one, didn't it?**

 **Arcus: Oh yeah...**

 **Me: Anyway, let's get rolling! But before the disclaimer, I will like to add a few more things. One being that there's a poll I've put up! More information at the bottom of the chapter. It's super important, readers! Well, only to the ones who have read the original story but newcomers are also welcomed to vote. Second is that I may skip some episodes of the series because I find them unnecessary and that I am also modifying most episodes to suit the story. Now, on to the disclaimer!**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own Pokémon but I do own Arcus and any other OCs in this story.**

* * *

After that attack that Pikachu had done, the rain had stopped and the dark clouds moved on. The flock of Spearow had took off, terrified and in pain from the powerful Electric attack, which was very effective against them. As the sun shined brightly down on the ground, the bike belonging to the girl was revealed to be completely burnt by Pikachu's attack, leaving it in a horrible state.

On the other side of the bike was Ash and Pikachu, lying on the ground and facing each other. Ash stirred as he opened his eyes to see Pikachu giving him a small, yet friendly smile. The first positive thing that the Pikachu has shown to him. "Well, we beat them." Ash smiled. Pikachu nodded back to him.

Just then, they heard a sound that they have never heard before and looked up, only to see a huge Pokémon flying by, leaving a trail of sparkling particles as it flapped its massive wings and flew towards a rainbow.

"What's that?" Ash asked.

His Pokédex, which had fallen out of his vest and dropped onto the ground, activated and replied. "There is no data. There still are Pokémon yet to be identified."

Ash looks back up at the Pokémon, only to see it fade away as soon as it crossed the rainbow it had flew over. Ash picked up the Pokédex and placed it inside his vest's pocket. He turned to Pikachu and picked up the injured Mouse Pokémon. "No time for daydreaming. You need to see a doctor at the medical Center that that girl was talking about. I just hope they're open at the hour..." Ash muttered as he turned to the burnt bike. "Oh...guess we'll just have to go on foot then. I'm sure she'll find it soon."

Without a second to waste, Ash makes his way back to the road and sprinted towards the nearby Pokémon Center.

* * *

 **Back with the girl from before:**

"Hey, looks like the storm is over," the girl said to herself as she stepped out onto the road. She watches the rainbow in the sky fade and looks at the Jewel of Life in her hands. "I still wonder though...you don't look like a Pokéball to me. I don't see the splitting line on you. So you must be an item he kept for his Pikachu. I guess I better get to Viridian City then. He might be waiting for me with my bike and he's probably waiting for me to return you to him."

There was silence for a while before the girl burst into laughter. "What am I thinking? I'm talking to an item! I must be going crazy..."

Unknown to her, she was getting looks from the Pokémon all around her. The Pokémon were all gazing at the Jewel of Life in her hands. Those in the trees climbed down and stopped near the bushes to get a closer look while some flew above to see it and some followed the girl from the shadows of the forest. But what the Pokémon all have in common when they saw the Jewel of Life was that they knew what it holds. The Son of Arceus.

As the girl made her way past a cluster of bushes, she gasped. "MY BIKE!" She ran towards her now destroyed bike and placed her hands on it. "What did that kid do?! When I get my hands on him..."

* * *

 **In Viridian City:**

An announcement tune began playing throughout the city as a female voice began speaking. "Attention citizens of Viridian City! We have a reports of possible Pokémon thieves in our area. Be on the lookout for suspicious looking strangers. Repeat, be on the lookout for suspicious..." The woman who had made the announcement stopped, finishing the announcement as well.

She a young woman with Cerulean colored hair. She was wearing the uniform of a police officer as well. She was known throughout the region as Officer Jenny, or at the very least, one of the Officer Jennies. At the moment, she was in her office, which was at the edge of the city. Moments ago, she had stopped an announcement midway. That was because she had turned towards her window, only to see Ash running towards the city with Pikachu in his arms. "Speak of the devil." Jenny muttered.

As she emerged from her office, she stretched out her arm and grabs Ash's collar before he could run any farther. "Hold it! Where do you think you're going with that Pokémon, young man?"

Ash turned towards her and frowned. "It's my Pokémon and it's hurt. And I've gotta get it to the hospital right away!"

Officer Jenny, feeling worried for Pikachu, removed her hand from Ash's collar and spoke to him in a more gentle tone. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you might be stealing it. Just show me your ID and you can go."

"My ID?" Ash asked. "I don't have any. You see, Pikachu and I just came here from Pallet and we..."

"You know," Jenny interrupted. "You're the forth person I've seen today from Pallet Town."

Ash raised an eyebrow at that. "The forth? Oh no, that means Gary Oak's here already."

Jenny gave him a nod before she continued. "It's very unusual for someone to carry a Pokémon around in his arms and not in a Pokéball. How do I know you didn't steal that Pokémon? Especially since you don't have any identification?"

"Please let me through," Ash said. "I wound't steal a Pokémon and I've got to get Pikachu to the hospital. Please, Miss."

At that moment, Officer Jenny noticed Ash's Pokédex sticking out of his vest's pocket and smiled. "Oh? Is that a Pokédex in your pocket?"

Ash looks down at his vest and nodded. "Yes. It's my Pokédex."

Then, Officer Jenny swipes it from him. "This is perfect! This will solve our little problem!"

"Uh...huh?" Ash asked, dumbfounded by the officer's words.

Jenny giggled as she flipped the Pokédex and taps on it before displaying it to Ash. "Your Pokédex IS your ID, kid. And here I thought Professor Oak usually tells new Trainers about it. I guess he must have forgotten about it."

As Ash was handed his Pokédex back, he saw that the screen on it was displaying his face on it as it spoke. "I'm Dexter, a Pokédex programmed by Professor Oak for Pokémon Trainer Ash Ketchum of the town of Pallet. My function is to provide Ash with information and advice regarding Pokémon and their training. If lost or stolen, I cannot be replaced."

Surprised by this new information, Ash gave Officer Jenny an embarrassed smile. "I didn't realize that it was also my ID. So can I take Pikachu to the Pokémon Center now?"

"I'll get you there in no time at all," Jenny replied. "Just follow me. We're taking my motorcycle there. It's much faster too." Ash nodded as he followed her to the small garage beside Officer Jenny's office. The door was raised up and inside it was Jenny's motorcycle, complete with a second seat, which Ash quickly gets on before Jenny revs the motor vehicle. "Sit back, hold on and don't yell." Before Ash could reply, Jenny had already started the vehicle and the two were off towards the Pokémon Center, leaving behind a trail of dust.

"Hey! What's the big idea?!" Cried the girl from before as she coughed. "Come back here!"

As she chased after them, a hot-air balloon appeared above Officer Jenny's office. The balloon itself was rather unique. Usually, hot-air balloons came in different colors and same shapes. But this one, in particular, was shaped as a Meowth's head. From it, a fishing hook was lowered and it ripped out a Wanted poster from the board outside Jenny's office.

The balloon ascended back into the air as the fishing hook was hoisted up by a purple-haired man, who donned a white uniform with the letter "R" in the middle of his chest. Beside him was a pink-haired woman who also donned the same uniform as he did.

"A Wanted poster? How flattering," said the pink-haired woman.

The purple-haired man scoffed. "Flattering? This picture makes me look terrible!"

"Then you should be happy the photographer captured the real you," the woman grinned. "We'll show these fools."

Nodding, the man continued. "The people of Viridian City will be sorry they saw this face."

At that moment, a Meowth walked up to them and spoke in proper English. "We're all sorry to see your face. Stay focus! We're here to capture rare and unusual Pokémon. Don't forget. Meowth!" The two nodded in agreement and Meowth continued. "And just remember, I'm the top cat!"

"You got it," the man replied.

* * *

 **With Ash, Pikachu and Officer Jenny:**

"There it is, Ash. We're almost at the Pokémon Center!" Officer Jenny said as her motorcycle drove down the empty road. As they went down the path of the road, a building soon came into view, which gave Ash a surprise.

"That's a Pokémon Center? It's gigantic!"

Jenny nodded. "You get used to it after some time. Anyway, this will be tricky. So hang on!" As they neared the building, Ash had expected her to stop outside. But in reality, Jenny took the extreme route and jumped the stairs, shocking Ash as the motorcycle skidded across the ground and the front doors of the Pokémon Center slide open, just in time for Officer Jenny's vehicle to slide in and stop in front of the front desk, where a pink-haired nurse was sitting at.

The nurse sighed. "We HAVE a driveway, you know, Jenny."

Ignoring her comment, Officer Jenny got off her motorcycle and faced the nurse. "Nurse Joy! It's a Pokémon emergency!"

"Please help it!" Ash cried as he got off the vehicle and held Pikachu up for Nurse Joy to see.

Nurse Joy narrowed her eyes down on Pikachu and spoke. "We'll do what we can." She immediately turned to the computer beside her and she began typing on the keyboard as she cried out. "I need a stretcher for a small Electric Pokémon, stat!"

Seconds later, a stretcher was wheeled over to them by two similar looking Pokémon. The two Pokémon were both pink, ovoid Pokémon. There were three hair-like growths on the sides of their heads, tipped with a darker shade of pink. On the center of their bellies was a dark pink pouch that contains a single white egg. Their arms were stubby, and they had small, dark pink feet. Additionally, they had a short tail each. These two Pokémon were known as Chansey.

Pikachu was immediately placed down on the stretcher by Nurse Joy. "It will be okay. Rush this Pokémon to the Critical Care Unit."

"Chansey!" The two Pokémon replied as they both wheeled Pikachu off towards the room that they were told to go to.

"We'll begin the treatment right away!" Nurse Joy said as she turned to Officer Jenny and Ash. "So who are you, kid?"

Jenny placed her hand on Ash's shoulder and replied. "He's name is Ash. He's the Pokémon's Trainer."

"If there's anything I can do, please just tell me!" Ash said.

Nurse Joy nodded. "You can be more responsible. If you want to become a Pokémon Trainer young man, you don't let your Pokémon battle until it's in this condition. And don't try to tell me that I don't know what happened. What's in the past, stays in the past. Now we'll have to heal your Pikachu." Then, she smiled. "Just leave everything to me, alright? I'll make sure that your Pikachu will be feeling better again."

Officer Jenny saluted. "It's in your hands now, Nurse Joy. I know you'll give the Pokémon excellent care. I'm just lucky that we got it here just in time." Jenny then realized that she had left her vehicle in the Pokémon Center. "Oh my goodness! I left my motorcycle parked at the front desk." Jenny said, embarrassed.

"Next time, use the driveway!" Nurse Joy replied. This caused Officer Jenny to laugh nervously before she went over to get her motorcycle and Nurse Joy turned to Ash once more. "Ash, you'll have to go to the waiting room." Before Ash could reply, Nurse Joy had already entered the room.

* * *

An hour has past since Pikachu was taken to the Critical Care Unit. Ash was sitting by the waiting room. He took a short glance at the room that Pikachu was in and looked away before he faced the video phones. "I guess...I'll call home. Maybe Mom's still awake." Ash made his way over to one of the video phones and sat down on one of the seats before he dialled his home number.

Seconds past and the line on the other side spoke. _"Hello! This is the Ketchum Residence."_

Ash hesitated for a moment but spoke. "Hello, Mom?"

He then heard his mother gasp over the phone before she spoke again. _"Hi, honey! Is everything okay?"_ On the video phone's screen, an image of his mother showed up and she continued. _"Where are you, Ash?"_

"In the Pokémon Center on Viridian City," Ash replied.

 _"You're already at Viridian City? It took your father four days to get there when he started his_ _Pokémon Training! Oh he'll be so proud! You're the apple of his eyes!"_ Ash's mother beamed.

Ash sighed. "Yeah. A rotten apple."

His mother rolled her eyes. _"Oh Ash, don't get discouraged! You're doing fine! You're growing up right before my eyes, spreading your wings and soaring like a Spearow!"_

Hearing that Pokémon, Ash shivered from the memory of what had happened to Pikachu hours ago. "I feel more like a fallen Pidgey..."

 _"I won't let you talk about yourself that way, Ash!"_ His mother scolded. _"Just be confident! You can do anything that you set your mind to. Do you understand?"_

"Yes?" Ash answered, unsure of what she had said.

 _"And are you changing your underwear everyday?"_

Ash sweat dropped. "Mom! It's only been hours since I left! It's not even the end of the day yet!"

His mother laughed. _"I was just joking. Good night, son. I love you!"_

"Miss you too, Mom. Bye!" Ash smiled as he hangs up, ending the call. He sat there, staring at the screen. He was deep in thought about what his mother had just said to him. _'If what she says is true, then I just have to believe in myself that I can do it. I WILL become a_ _Pokémon Master!'_ Ash thought as he smiled to himself and gets up from the seat.

As he turned, he noticed the picture on the wall behind the front desk. Four images of four different Pokémon could be seen. Three of them were of bird-like Pokémon and the last one was a quadruped Pokémon. But what caught his eyes was the one above the quadruped Pokémon image. The image almost resembles the one he had saw earlier!

He walks over to the front desk, where he stares up at the picture. "That's the one I saw..." he muttered to himself.

Just then, the video phone on the front desk started ringing. Ash made his way around the desk and taps the call button on the keyboard, which the screen soon displayed "Voice only". Ash then spoke. "Uh...this is Ash. Who's calling?"

 _"Here! I'm over here!"_

Ash turned around, only to see the picture of the quadruped Pokémon sliding down into the picture frame while another video phone screen appeared, with the back of Professor Oak facing Ash.

 _"It's me! Professor Oak! Don't you recognize me?"_

"No, professor. I didn't recognize the back of your head," Ash replied.

Professor Oak turned and gasped. _"Oops! Wrong camera!"_ As the professor messed around with his keyboard, the screen quickly changed and the professor's face was now facing Ash from the second video phone screen. _"There!"_ Professor Oak then cleared his throat before he began. _"I just spoke with your mother and she told me that you've made it to the_ _Pokémon Center in Viridian City. Is that correct?"_

"I couldn't be talking to you if I wasn't here," Ash replied with a smile.

Professor Oak nodded. _"The other_ _Pokémon Trainers made it there with no problem and I'm pleasantly surprised that you've got there so soon. I admit, when you left, I had my doubts that you could handle your Pikachu. But when my grandson Gary said that you wouldn't have a single new Pokémon by the time you got to Viridian City, I bet him a million dollars that he'd be wrong!"_

Ash sweat dropped. "Well, money isn't everything, right?"

 _'Why do I even bother?'_ Professor Oak thought as he gave Ash a poker face.

"But I did see a Pokémon just like that one," Ash continued as he pointed to the picture above the video phone's screen. "It flew right over the rainbow!"

Professor Oak laughed. _"Don't talk such nonsense! You couldn't have seen this_ _Pokémon. Trainers have searched their whole lives and they have never seen it! You must have been mistaken. Anyway, how's the Egg that you receive? Is it still alright?"_

Ash nodded. "Yeah. It's right he..." He paused as he felt his vest's pocket. The Jewel of Life was missing! He must have dropped it before he had reached the Pokémon Center. Ash turned back to Professor Oak and chuckled nervously as he gave the professor an improvised lie. "Ah well...Pikachu is holding on to it. It just likes the Egg for some reason."

The professor seemed to have bought it as he nodded. _"As long as it's fine, I know it will hatch soon."_ Just then, the doorbell of the professor's home rang and he smiled. _"Ah! There's my pizza! Coming!"_ As the professor got up from his seat, he turned to Ash. _"It was very nice talking to you, Ash and good luck. Mmm...anchovy, spinach and pineapple pizza!"_ Then, the video call ended.

"Now I've got you!" Ash turned, only to see the girl from before with her bike in her hands. "I knew I'd find you here!"

Ash swallowed. "You found your bike..."

"Of course I did, you little loser!" The girl yelled. "This is what's left after you stole it to save your Pokémon! Now I can see why your Pokémon is in the..." She loses her balance and collapsed, dropping her destroyed bike as well as the Jewel of Life which rolled out of her hand but not before she picks it up again.

Ash quickly rushes over to her side. "Let me help you!"

The girl swats his hand away. "I don't need your help! And your going to pay for what you did to my bike!"

"I'll make up for it," Ash replied. "I promise I will. But I can't do anything about your bike until..."

"I don't care about any of your lame excuses, kid! I just want a new bike right now!" The girl cried out in anger.

Ash looks down at the floor. "It's my Pikachu. My Pikachu's not too good." The girl then softens herself as they faced the door of the room that Pikachu was in.

"Is it very serious?" She asked.

Nodding, Ash replied. "I think so. And there's nothing I can do to help now." Ash made his way to the seat next to the door and sat down, placing his hands on his face, as sadness overtakes him.

The girl approached him and sat beside him. She sighed and hands the Jewel of Life to him. "Here. You dropped this when I fished you out of the water earlier."

Ash's eyes widened as he grabs the Jewel of Life. "Thank you so much! I thought I'd lost it forever!"

She smiled before she looked at it before looking back at him. "So, what is it anyway? Is it an item for your Pikachu?"

"No," Ash replied. "Professor Oak told me that someone called "A" wanted me to have it. It's a rare Pokémon Egg."

The girl frowned. "Are you sure you're supposed to take care of it? You couldn't even take care of your Pikachu or keep my bike in one piece. I would I know that you wouldn't break that Egg? Especially now that I know that it's a rare one."

Ash glared at her. "Hey! I can take care of it! Besides, Pikachu was only hurt because of those Spearow from before."

The girl giggled. "I'm Misty by the way."

"And I'm Ash Ketchum," Ash replied with a smile.

Just then, the doors of the Critical Care Unit opened and Nurse Joy, her two Chansey and Pikachu came out. Ash and Misty quickly made their way over to the stretcher that Pikachu was on as Ash kept the Jewel of Life in his vest's pocket.

"Your Pikachu's resting, Ash. It's a good thing you got it here so fast. The procedure went well and it should be fine. Now your Pokémon needs a good rest in the recovery room. You should go in with it, Ash."

Ash nodded. "Thank you, Nurse Joy." Then, he turned to Misty. "Listen, I'm sorry about your bike. But I'm going to need some time to make things right."

"No way!" Misty cried. "I fell for that last time! We'll settle our little problem later. Right now, you should take care of Pikachu."

"Uh...okay?" Ash replied.

However, at that moment, sirens began to sound off as Officer Jenny's voice came through. "Your attention please! Our Viridian City radar system has detected an aircraft belonging to a gang of Pokémon thieves! If you have a Pokémon in your possession, exercise extreme caution!"

* * *

 **Outside the** **Pokémon Center:**

"We sure woke up this sleeping dump," said the pink-haired woman.

The purple-haired man scoffed. "And how dare they act like we're criminals! They should welcome Team Rocket!"

"Well, we'll teach them to respect that name," replied the woman.

Meowth snickered. "And when we snatched all their Pokémon, those scared little mice will know I'm the top cat!"

"We know Meowth, we know," replied the two human members of the group as they tossed their Pokéballs towards the Pokémon Center below them. "Ekans! Koffing! Attack!"

* * *

 **Back inside the** **Pokémon Center:**

The windows on the ceiling crashed and two Pokéballs dropped down, surprising Ash and the others as two Pokémon emerged from the Pokéballs.

The first Pokémon was a purple, serpentine Pokémon. Its eyes, underbelly, stripe, and rattle were yellow. It had three pairs of black lines encircling its body, as well as another line that connects each slitted eye and curves toward its nose. Its large mouth had a round, pink tongue and no visible teeth. This was Ekans. The second Pokémon was a spherical Pokémon with toxic gases erupting from its body occasionally. It had vacant eyes and a wide mouth that had two pointed teeth in the upper jaw. Below its face was a cream-colored skull-and-crossbones marking. Several crater-like protrusions cover this Pokémon's body. This Pokémon was Koffing.

Koffing began spraying out gas from his protrusions, which soon engulfed the entire Pokémon Center.

Ash coughed. "What are they?"

"They're Ekans and Koffing!" Nurse Joy replied as she coughed as well. Ash quickly responded by taking out his Pokédex and pointed it at them.

"Ekans, the Snake Pokémon. Ekans moves silently and stealthily through grass, searching for its favorite food - Pidgey and Spearow." Then, the image of Ekans was replaced by Koffing's image. "Koffing, the Poison Gas Pokémon. Koffing hovers in the air, thanks to the poisonous gases it contains, which have a foul odor and can explode."

Laughter filled the room as two figures dropped from the windows and landed in between Ekans and Koffing.

"Now who are they?" Ash asked as the gas began fading.

"Don't be frightened, little boy," said the pink-haired woman as both her and her partner revealed themselves.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves," finished the blue-haired man.

The woman started off first. "To protect the world from devastation..."

"To unite all people within our nation..." continued the man.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love..."

"To extend our reach to the stars above..."

The woman smiled. "Jessie."

The man smiled as he pulled out a rose in his hands "James."

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" The woman, now known as Jessie, continued.

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" James said.

Meowth soon joined in as he landed in between the two Team Rocket members. "Meowth! That's right!"

Ash, Misty and Nurse Joy stood there, frozen and unable to comprehend what they had just heard. Then, Ash asked. "What are you talking about? You guys don't make any sense!"

James stepped forward, with the rose still in his hand. "In short, we're here for the Pokémon."

Instantly, Ash places a hand on Pikachu and another on his vest where he kept the Jewel of Life at. "You're not getting my Pokémon!"

"Pikachu?" Jessie raised an eyebrow before frowning. "We're not interested in your precious electric rat. We seek only rare and valuable Pokémon."

Ash gritted his teeth as he clenched his vest's pocket. _'Rare? I guess this Egg will be a target if they found out about it...'_

"You're wasting your time!" Nurse Joy intervened. This is a Center for weak and injured Pokémon."

James scoffed. "That may be so. But we wouldn't be all surprise if we find a few Pokémon gems among all the junks."

"You're starting to bug me," Ash responded.

This earned him a look from the Team Rocket members. Jessie laughed. "Isn't that cute, the boy's mad. James, let's show him how much trouble he's in if he plans to get in our way of getting what we want. Ekans, Koffing, squash those brats!"

Both Pokémon complied to Jessie's commands and began advancing towards the group while James stared at Jessie. "Uh...Jessie, I thought I was supposed to tell Koffing that."

"We won't get anywhere if I hadn't said anything!" Jessie replied.

As the two Team Rocket members continued their little squabble, Ekans lunged forward and smashed into the computer on the front desk and the group made a run for it while Koffing whizzed by their heads and smashed into the desk itself, destroying it. Nurse Joy turned to Ash and Misty and signalled them to follow her, which they did as they followed her towards a room around the corner.

Once they reached the room, the doors closed as Ekans and Koffing passed them. In the room, Ash went wide eyed as they were facing a huge amount of Pokéballs all placed on shelves next to the wall. "Whoa, that's a lot of Pokéballs." Ash said.

Nurse Joy smiled. "Well, this IS a Pokémon Center which means that Trainers would leave their Pokémon here to rest while the Trainers themselves will rest as well or they could be sightseeing around Viridian City. But now's not the time. We'll have to get all of these..." Before Nurse Joy could continue, the lights went out. "They must have cut the power as well. But we have another power source they didn't know of. We have Pika-power!"

"Huh?" Ash and Misty asked.

"Look over there and you'll see," Nurse Joy replied as she pointed out to the window across the room. As the three made their way over to the window, Nurse Joy tapped it thrice before nine familiar looking beings stood up and began running. A spark of electricity appeared in between the beings and the device above them before more sparks appeared and the lights came back up. The lights in the room turned on and both Ash and Misty gasped as they watch the beings' shadowed figures faded away to reveal that they were Pikachu! All nine of them!

Misty smiled. "Look at all the Pikachu! They're so cute!" Then, she realized something as she turned to Ash. "Hey, Ash. Don't you think you should keep that Egg in somewhere safer?"

Ash shrugged. "Oh, so you think I could just put it somewhere safe? I left my bag back in the forest near Pallet because Pikachu and I were being chased by that flock of Spearow! I could have put the egg in my bag but those Spearow were just too fast for me to get my bag and run. Besides, I couldn't just abandon Pikachu just because of my bag."

"Oh..." Misty blinked.

Just then, a computer in the room turned on and Nurse Joy immediately got to it as the computer spoke. _"A crisis situation has arisen. Initiating emergency_ _Pokéball transport sequence!"_ Two mechanical arms began moving from the ceiling as they grabbed a Pokéball each before placing the Pokéballs in a machine next to Nurse Joy before repeating the process continuously.

"This is the Viridian City Pokémon Center!" Nurse Joy began. "We have an emergency situation. Transporting Pokéballs."

The response from the computer came in. _"This is the Pewter City_ _Pokémon Center. Ready to receive Pokéballs."_

As the machine slowly teleports each Pokéballs to Pewter City, the toxic gas that Koffing had sprayed began to enter the room before the doors burst open with Koffing floating into the room and knocking all the Pokéballs onto the floor.

"Get those Pokéballs!" Nurse Joy cried.

Ash nodded and stretched his hand out to grab the closest Pokéball to him but Misty interrupted him. "This is war! Don't just hold them, throw them!"

"Alright..." Ash hesitated but threw the ball, releasing a Pidgey from it as the Tiny Bird Pokémon squawked before being scared off by Ekans.

Jessie laughed. "That thing can't beat us!"

Ash grumbled. "Oh yeah? Well try this one then! Pokéball go!" As he tossed the second Pokéball, it split opened. But nothing came out of it, shocking Ash. "EMPTY?!"

"Well, some of the Pokéballs ARE empty," Nurse Joy added.

"Now she tells me..." Ash muttered as he picked up another Pokéball. "Well, this one feels like a real winner. Pokéball go!" This time, a Rattata came out of the Pokéball, only to be scared off by Ekans again.

James scoffed. "All of them are weak."

Misty then stepped forward with her own Pokéball in her hand. "I guess I'll have to take this into my own hands then. You grab Pikachu and get out of here, Ash. I'll take care of these three clowns."

"That's pretty big talk coming from such a little lady," Jessie mocked.

Misty smirked. "At least you're right about the pretty part. Thanks for the compliment."

James chuckled. "The girl thinks she's pretty."

"I agree with her," Jessie replied. "I think she's pretty. Pretty stupid!"

Misty's smirk vanished, replaced by a glare. "I'll show you! Pokéball go!" As soon as her Pokéball dropped to the ground, it split opened and a white glow emerged from it before forming a fish-like Pokémon with orange markings on its tail, back, and fins. It had a thin dorsal fin and long pectoral fins. Its circular eyes were blue, and it had pink lips. On its forehead was a large horn.

"Goldeen, Goldeen, Goldeen," cried the Pokémon as it flopped on the ground.

Both Jessie and James sweat dropped and nearly fell from surprised as Ash pulled out his Pokédex. "Goldeen, the Goldfish Pokémon. Its beautiful tail fin billows and flutters like an elegant dress and it swims at a speed of five knots."

"That's your best shot?" Jessie asked, unconvinced and disappointed. "I find that pretty pathetic of you, girlie."

Misty huffed as she returned her Goldeen back to its Pokéball. "I was just warming up. You and I both know that Water Pokémon can't battle on land." Misty then turned towards Ash as she whispered to him. "Get Pikachu and that Egg out of here while I distract them."

Ash nodded as he picked up Pikachu before dashing out of the room.

Meowth noticed this and motioned to Ekans and Koffing, who both nodded as they began their chase to catch Ash.

Once Ash and Pikachu were in the lobby, they headed towards the door. However, Ash tripped, falling down to the floor and landing on his face. Pikachu slipped out of his hands, falling down beside him while the Jewel of Life rolled out of Ash's vest's pocket. Ash groaned as he turned around, before face-palming himself when he saw what he tripped on. "Why did Misty had to leave her bike _here_ of all places?"

The Team Rocket Pokémon soon arrived as well as Ekans and Koffing advanced towards Ash, who quickly grabbed Pikachu. Meowth grinned but stopped when the Jewel of Life bumped into his foot. "Eh? What's this thing?"

Ash felt his vest and gasped. "Hey! Give that back!"

Meowth picked up the Jewel of Life and squinted. "Wait a minute...is this an Egg?! Wow! The boss will be delighted to get this one! I bet he has never seen an Egg like this before! This must be extremely rare!"

"Give. It. Back!" Ash yelled.

Meowth smirked. "Or what? Your Pikachu is barely in the state to battle us. The only logical thing you can do is to let me and my pals leave this place with this Egg and the Pokémon in this Pokémon Center. But I don't think...huh?" Meowth looked down at the Jewel of Life, which had started glowing. "What's going on here?"

Ekans and Koffing stopped as they turned back to see what Meowth was talking about. Ash scrambled to his feet and placed Pikachu down next to Misty's bike before he ran towards Meowth. "Give me back that Egg!"

The Jewel of Life glowed intensively, causing the three Team Rocket Pokémon to shut their eyes while Ash outstretched his arm and grabbed the Jewel of Life.

"MY EYES!" Meowth shrieked as he fell on his back.

Pikachu blinked as he shifted his head. "Pika Pika." Then, the nine Pikachu from before came running out of the room that they were in before they all gathered around Ash's Pikachu. The nine Pikachu piled up on him as they all sparked with electricity before blasting their energy at the three Team Rocket Pokémon.

Ash's Pikachu crawled out of the pile and grinned as he waved towards Ash.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried as he ran over to him with a smile and with the Jewel of Life in his hand.

Jessie and James soon arrived and they gasped as they ran over to their Pokémon. "Meowth! What's the meaning of this? How did this happen?" Jessie asked.

Meowth pointed towards Ash and coughed. "That kid. He has a rare Pokémon Egg and it ain't no ordinary one either. It blinded me for a moment! Then that kid took it back and his Pikachu called for reinforcements before zapping us with their Thunderbolt attack."

"Oh?" James spoke. "Then let's make sure the kid gives us the Egg, forcefully."

Pikachu glared at James before turning to Ash. "Pika. Pika Pika!"

"Pika Pika?" Ash repeated, only for Pikachu to nod. "Are you talking about...that's it! You want more power!" Pikachu smiled as Ash picked up Misty's bike and set it beside the Mouse Pokémon. Ash quickly got onto the bike and placed his feet on the pedals before he began pedalling.

"What's this?" Jessie asked.

Ash grinned as Pikachu hopped onto the bike. "Let's just say we're going to generate a little excitement for you, Team Rocket." The light on the bike soon flashed brightly and Pikachu began emitting sparks of electricity from his body. "Alright, Pikachu. Give them a big shock!" Pikachu complied and released one of his attacks, Thunderbolt, at Team Rocket. The attack hit, electrifying all of the members.

Koffing, however, couldn't hold back its gas back as it sprayed out the gas like a whistle, before the electricity from the Thunderbolt attack sparked the gas, causing a huge explosion which blasted off the entire building, Team Rocket included.

Outside of the Pokémon Center, Officer Jenny had just arrived. "I was too late. But not for the fireworks..."

* * *

"I can't believe it!" Jessie complained. "A cat losing to a mouse. How humiliating for you, Meowth. You're an embarrassment."

Meowth protested. "That Pikachu was no ordinary Pikachu, Jessie."

James smiled. "It certainly is rare. A perfect prize for the boss and that Egg you told us about will make a bonus!"

"Let's catch it!" Jessie replied.

A nod came from Meowth as he gripped tightly to the rope ladder to the Team Rocket balloon. "Perhaps we will. But we have to get down from the sky first." As if on cue, the balloon burst and the balloon began descending down, very quickly.

* * *

 **The next morning:**

 _"Your Viridian City_ _Pokémon were transported here safely."_

Nurse Joy smiled as replied to the other Nurse Joy on the other line of the video phone, which had miraculously survived the explosion the previous night. "Thanks sis. Ash, Misty and Pikachu are heading your way, to Pewter City." Then, her smile faded. "If they can get safely through the Viridian Forest."

Officer Jenny laughed. "Don't worry about them. From what I've seen, those three can take pretty good care of themselves."

"Well I hope you're right," Nurse Joy replied.

* * *

 **Me: That's a wrap! Arcus, take five.**

 **Arcus: What? I barely did anything!**

 **Me: Uh...you blinded Meowth with Flash from your Egg? Don't you remember that?**

 **Arcus: Oh yeah. So, what's this poll you were talking about?**

 **Me: Right, the poll. Well, I was thinking of which of the two original six** **Pokémon that you got in the original story** **should appear after you hatch. Should it be Angel (Absol)? Torch (Torchic) ? Lily (Snivy)? Kippy (Mudkip)? Ace (Meowth)? Shelly (Kabuto)? Of course, I had to add the kind of** **Pokémon they are because newcomers are also welcome to vote and the readers may have forgotten who they were after so long.**

 **Ella: *Puppy dog eyes* What about me?**

 **Me: I told you this before, you're not coming until I get to the Mewtwo Strikes Back movie! Anyway, readers, make sure to vote as well! It affects the story, you know. Vote for the two** **Pokémon you wish to have at once!** **Other than that, review please!**


	4. Update info

**Update info**

 **Me: Just to make it clear to all of you readers, before anymore of you start spamming that I have either quit or stop because of long update periods, I have difficulty finding period of times where I can use for updating my stories, alright? Currently, I'm busy juggling my life with school and so all I'm asking is that you have to be patient for future chapters. At least until next month, which is when my holiday begins.**

* * *

 **Response to Guest reviews:**

 **Guest: Well, my free time for writing has been shortening lately because of school so updates can take quite a while before I can post them. So before the holidays, updates are slow. And that's why I need the votes for the poll so I can also come up with new ideas to continue the story while I'm studying at the same time.**

 **Guest: What are you...oh...I see what you did there.**

 **THE CREATOR: I have just explained my reasons for not posting chapter 3. But really, if that was sarcasm in your review, I hope to see less of it.**


	5. Chapter 3: Evolution of Caterpie

**Chapter 3: Evolution of Caterpie**

 **Me: *le gasp* Arcus, what did you do to my room?** **!**

 **Arcus: *smirks* I...might have redecorated the place.**

 **Me: YOU USED FLAME CHARGE IN MY ROOM! And to think that I was going to put up the next chapter of your story.**

 **Arcus: I have the advantage even if you threaten me. After all, you may have an opening when you sleep. Not even that Shinigami that you created will protect you in your sleep!**

 **Me: I just lost that one. Anyway, enough chattering! It's time for the next chapter, the episode where Caterpie is caught by Ash and how he evolves into Metapod! On to the disclaimer! Oh yeah, and before I forget, I'll be changing some things from the show in this story. Ash won't be the same horrible Trainer that we know. Also, I may be skipping some episodes that I find irrelevant to the story such as the Orange Islands, which will only be about Ash, Arcus and the gang going to get the G.S Ball and that's it. Unless you guys want me to add the 'Charizard chills' episode and/or Lapras episode.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon but I do own Arcus and any other OCs in this story.**

* * *

Misty cringed as she, Ash and Pikachu entered the Viridian Forest, where almost all its inhabitants are one of her biggest fears, Bug type Pokémon. "Do we really have to enter here?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah. Nurse Joy said that this is the nearest route to Pewter City. So there's no way I'm skipping this, isn't that right Pikachu?" The Mouse Pokémon smiled to his Trainer as he raised a paw up in agreement.

"But still, why this place? I'm sure some other routes can be faster as well," Misty asked, trying her luck at persuading Ash.

However, the boy wouldn't budge. "I'm trying to become a Pokémon Master and to do that, I have to catch as many Pokémon as I can and Nurse Joy said that there's a lot of different kinds of them around in this forest!"

Misty paled as she thought. _"Nurse Joy...why?"_

Just then, a rustle was heard beside Misty. She hesitantly turned her head towards it, before she let out a loud scream when a Pokémon crawled out. But it wasn't just any Pokémon, it was a Bug type Pokémon. Misty ran over to Ash and hid behind him. "Ash! Look over there!"

Ash turned towards the direction that Misty was pointing at and smiled. "It's a Caterpie!" Ash quickly pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it towards the new Pokémon.

"Caterpie, the Worm Pokémon. Caterpie uses the suction cups on its feet to climb trees and feed on its favorite leaves."

Misty shivered in fear. "Even if that thing is a Pokémon, bugs are disgusting and I don't like them! Do something about it!"

"Alright then, stand back," Ash replied as Misty did as she was instructed while Ash removed an empty Pokéball from his belt strap and turned his cap to the other side. "This one's a piece of cake." Caterpie stared at Ash with a confused look and tilted its head as Ash winded up his arm and tossed the Pokéball at it. "Pokéball go! Caterpie, you're mine!" The Pokéball bounced off Caterpie's head. It split opened and a red glow emitted from the Worm Pokémon's body as it screeched. Before long, the Pokémon's body had faded away into the glow and was reabsorbed back into the Pokéball before it closed.

The Pokéball landed on the ground and the button on it turned red as the Pokéball shook continuously for a few more times before the red light had vanish and the Pokéball stopped shaking, signaling a successful capture.

Ash's lips twitched for a moment. Then, he broke into a smile before he began to cheer aloud as he ran towards the Pokéball. "I did it!" Ash stopped in front of the Pokéball and lowered himself as he picked it up. "I did it! I caught Caterpie! I did it all by myself! I caught my first Pokémon! This is the first step of my way to becoming the number one Pokémon Master in the whole world."

He grabbed Misty's arm and pulled her, dragging her around in a circle. "Quit it, Ash! I'm getting dizzy!" Pikachu watched the two of his human companions and his eyes span, before he himself felt dizzy and collapsed on his back.

Misty yanked her arm out of Ash's grip and glared at him. "Ash! Quit acting like a..."

"Look!" Ash interrupted as he shoved the Pokéball in her face. "Inside this Pokéball is the first Pokémon I've ever caught in my whole entire life!"

"Great," Misty backed away. "Just keep it away from me, will ya?"

Ash smirked. "You're not afraid of a little Caterpie in a Pokéball, are you?"

"Bugs get me all bugged out!" Misty cried. "Even when they're in a Pokéball. Just keep it away!"

"I like bugs even if they aren't in Pokéballs," Ash replied. "It must be great for Caterpie inside the Pokéball. All cute and comfortable inside there. I love my new little Pokémon."

Misty rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I guess it takes a worm to love a worm."

"Very funny," Ash said with mock amusement.

Pikachu stirred as he woke up from his dizziness. Then, Ash approached him. "Pikachu, inside this Pokéball is our new friend!" Pikachu leaned forward and sniffed the Pokéball before grinning. Ash smiled. "I'm glad you like it. And from now on, we'll catch a whole bunch of new friends!" Ash lowered his eyes to meet the Pokéball containing Caterpie and said. "Caterpie, you're sticking with us."

Another shiver went down Misty's back as she slowly turned around. "Wait...does that mean..."

"Caterpie, come on out!" Ash cried as the Pokéball splits open, releasing Caterpie from the Pokéball in the form of a white glow. At that moment, Misty turn tailed and made her quick escape to a tree a few feet away from her, hiding behind it as Caterpie's body formed from the white glow.

Ash sighed as he approached Caterpie. "There's nothing to be scared of, Misty." He turned back to Caterpie and stretched out his hand to the Worm Pokémon. "Come on, Caterpie. Climb up on my shoulder." Caterpie nodded as it crawled towards Ash's hand. Then, it stopped the moment it caught sight of Misty. Before any of them could react, Caterpie was already making its way towards Misty.

"Hey! Caterpie, come back!"

Misty screamed as Caterpie rubbed itself against her leg. She was shivering out of fear as Caterpie let out a purr-like squeal while it continued rubbing itself on the smooth flesh of her leg.

Ash smiled. "Hey Misty! Caterpie really likes you. Isn't that cute?"

Misty fell to her knees and shrieked. "Get this disgusting bug away from me!" Caterpie froze and tilted its head on confusion as Misty backed away from it. "Please, don't get any closer to me!"

"What?" Ash asked. "You don't like Caterpie? And you think Caterpie's disgusting?"

Caterpie's eyes widened when those words hits it. Caterpie lowered its head, saddened by what it had heard. Pikachu approached it and he placed a paw on its back, comforting it before Misty grabbed him.

"I know!" Misty said. "You be friends with that creepy bug and I'll be friends with Pikachu."

Ash scoffed. "Pikachu only likes me and zaps anybody who tries to...huh?"

Unexpectedly, Pikachu was enjoying Misty's hand as she gently rubbed his head. Ash grumbled as his fingers twitched uncontrollably. "Pikachu..."

Misty paused and looked up, only to see that Caterpie was near her again with saddened eyes. Misty cringed. "It's so gross! Ash, put that slimy thing back in the Pokéball. Bugs are one of the three most disgusting things in the world!"

"Aside from you, what are the other two disgusting things?" Ash asked, clearly annoyed with Misty's attitude towards Caterpie.

Misty huffed. "Carrots, peppers and bugs. Everybody has something they don't like and I don't like bugs!"

"Well I like carrots and peppers and bugs!" Ash replied. "But what I don't like is the way you're hurting Caterpie's feelings with your silly fear of bugs!" Misty turned away and Ash sighed as he knelt down to meet Caterpie's eyes. "I don't think you're disgusting or ugly at all, Caterpie. Come on, climb up on my shoulder." Caterpie hesitated for a moment as Ash's hand neared it. Caterpie turned to Pikachu, who gave it a nod. Ash smiled. "You're not going to scare Misty anymore." Caterpie let out a small screech as it began crawling up Ash's arm and it stopped on his shoulder, believing in Ash's words.

"What do you mean it won't scare me?" Misty asked.

Ash smirked. "We're going on without her. Come on, Pikachu." The Mouse Pokémon nodded as he hopped out of Misty's hands and followed Ash.

Misty groaned. "I'll show you!"

* * *

 **Somewhere else in Kanto:**

Arceus pushed through a slab of stone as he approached a structure which seemed to have resembled a shrine. Currently in his Human form, Arceus held his hand up as he stopped in his tracks. A wave of energy emitted from his hand as it traveled throughout the area, revealing at least three Beedrill and a Venusaur were hidden in the thick vegetation around him.

The Alpha Pokémon scoffed. "Reveal yourselves to me!"

"Stay away from this area!" The Venusaur cried out as it stepped into the open with its vines on standby, ready to attack. "This shrine is not for any humans to be at. Get out of here before I get serious."

Arceus smiled. "Venusaur, I am no human." With a snap of his fingers, Arceus's body glowed as it grew to his original size. When the glow faded away, Arceus stood proudly before the Seed Pokémon as it backed away in shock.

"Y-you're Arceus!" Venusaur cried as the three Beedrill all revealed themselves and joined Venusaur. The Pokémon all knelt down as Venusaur spoke. "Please forgive me for my ignorance, Arceus."

"It is not anybody's mistake, Venusaur. You wouldn't even know that it was me," Arceus replied as he reverted into his Human form and approached the shrine. "I won't be here for long, Venusaur. I have only come here to collect something that I need." Arceus stopped in front of the shrine and he ripped the door open, revealing a sphere-like stone inside the shrine.

"The artefact?" Venusaur asked.

Arceus nodded. "Yes. This is what my son will need when he grows."

"You mean, it has begun?" Venusaur asked. "Is it already the time for Arcus to hatch?"

"That is right, Venusaur," Arceus replied. "The time has come for Arcus to hatch. But not at the moment. It will take at least a few more days before he hatches. And when he does, he'll have this with him. The Universal Brace."

One of the Beedrill hovered beside Arceus and spoke. "But Arceus, the artefact looks nothing like a brace."

Arceus chuckled. "That's because I have yet to begin its creation for I had lacked this one last item. But with this, the Universal Brace for Arcus shall be complete."

"But what does it do for Arcus?" Venusaur asked.

Arceus replied. "For starters, the brace allows him to communicate with me, when his bond with me awakens, that is. Other than that, it also functions as what the humans call the Pokéball. But the Universal Brace works differently from the Pokéball and that will have to wait. I'm not going to spoil anything any further." With a snap of his fingers, a glow emitted from his body before he soon faded away, leaving the four Pokémon alone near the shrine.

* * *

 **Back in the Viridian Forest:**

As Ash and his two Pokémon walked along the path down Viridian City, Pikachu's ears twitched and he stopped and turned his head, only to find Misty following them. Pikachu turned back and tugged Ash's jeans, earning the human's attention. "What's the problem, Pikachu?" The Mouse Pokémon pointed to the back and Ash turned to that direction. At that moment, Misty froze before she dove behind a tree to hide. Ash frowned. "What are you following us for?"

"My bike!" Misty replied as she peeked out of the tree. "I'm holding you responsible for my bike."

"When are you ever going to get over that dumb old bike?" Ash asked.

Misty scoffed. "For your information, Mr. Pokémon Master, you're the dumb one because if you hadn't destroy it in the first place, I could have ridden out of here by now."

"I told you that I'll make good of your bike one day. And if I'm so dumb, why are you still following me?"

Misty shook her head and replied. "I'm not following you. This happens to be the fastest way through the woods."

Ash rolled his eyes at her as he turned around and continued to walk on. "Fine. Do whatever you want."

"That's exactly what I'm doing!" Misty cried.

Pikachu looked at Ash before turning to Misty and sighed as he thought. _"The Son of Arceus will have to endure all this drama once he hatches..."_

Night soon came and a camp fire was quickly set up by Ash as he and his Pokémon and Misty gathered around a small tree trunk which had its top cut down. Ash reached for his vest's pocket and pulled out the Jewel of Life and a small cloth. Ash grinned as he gently wiped away the small smudges on the Egg and spoke. "I hope you'll hatch soon, little fella. I can't wait to know what kind of Pokémon you are."

"As long as it's not a bug, I'll be glad..." Misty muttered.

Ash glared at her before turning back to the Egg. "Don't listen to her. She's just afraid of bugs." Ash gently sets the Egg down next to him before turning to his two Pokémon. "Sleep well, guys."

"Well, I can't sleep with all the noise you're making!" Misty cried from the opposite side of the tree trunk. "And make sure that you keep that disgusting bug away from me!"

The 10 year old boy scoffed as he turned away. "Don't listen to her, Caterpie."

Minutes later, the two humans had fallen asleep. Caterpie sighed as it crawled down the tree trunk and towards one of the surrounding trees. Pikachu noticed this and followed the Worm Pokémon. As Pikachu approached Caterpie, he asked. "Is something wrong, Caterpie?"

"Pikachu," Caterpie answered. "Do you think Misty will treat me differently if I was a little...different?"

The Mouse Pokémon tilted his head at Caterpie and scratched his ear. "How different are you talking about?"

Caterpie turned towards the sky. "Just look at the sky, Pikachu. The moon is bright and beautiful tonight, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it is," Pikachu nodded. "But how does that make a difference to you?"

Just then, the two spotted a new Pokémon flying by. The Pokémon resembles a vaguely anthropomorphic butterfly with a purple body. It only had two body segments and four light blue legs. It had two black antennae, a light blue snout with two fangs underneath, and large, red compound eyes. Its two pairs of veined wings are white with black accents.

"It's a Butterfree!" Pikachu cried.

Caterpie nodded. "Yes. And that is my final Evolution stage as well."

"So are you planning to become a Butterfree so that you can change Misty's mind about you?" Pikachu asked.

The Worm Pokémon nodded again. "In my current stage, I'm nothing more than a weak Pokémon. But if I were to become a Butterfree, I'm sure I can become stronger. And humans also think that Butterfree are more 'cuter'. So I can benefit both Ash and Misty. It's killing two birds with one stone!"

Pikachu sighed. "I'm sure the part where you become stronger isn't just based on Evolution, Caterpie. It's based on the effort you put into and the training you have to become stronger. But I do have to agree with you on the 'cuter' part. Misty will surely change her mind about you if you evolve into a Butterfree!"

A smile grew on Caterpie's face. "I'm glad you're with me, Pikachu. But what about the Son of Arceus? What do you think he'll be like?"

"I'm sure he'll live up to his name and we'll be there to support him," Pikachu replied. "It's a must that we help the Son of Arceus to grow up and become a strong Pokémon just like Arceus. After all, Arceus was the one who made it one of the rules we Pokémon follow."

Caterpie nodded. "You're right. I'm sure we'll do a great job at helping him when he hatches. But does Misty's Pokémon agree with us?"

Pikachu shrugged. "I haven't seen any of her Pokémon other than her Goldeen. But I'm sure that they'll help us too. Like I said, it was Arceus who made that rule and we must follow it. Now come on, Caterpie. It's time to get some shut eye too. We still have to make it out of the forest and reach Pewter City." Caterpie smiled as the two Pokémon hurried back to where the two humans were sleeping.

* * *

 **The next morning:**

Misty blinked as she stirred the moment she woke up. She yawned and turned. But immediately froze when she spotted a small figure sleeping next to her. Misty's body shook in fear as her eyes locked onto the figure in front of her, which she knew as Ash's Caterpie. Without hesitation, Misty let out an extremely loud scream.

Both Ash and Pikachu as well as Caterpie woke up in shock as Ash got up, still in his sleeping bag, and hopped towards Misty while he looked around with concern. "What? What's wrong? W-what's happening?"

"What is this _thing_ doing sleeping near me?!" Misty demanded, pointing at Caterpie.

Ash paused as he now realized what the problem was and laughed. "Caterpie just wants to be your friend!"

Misty screamed. "If that _thing_ wants to be my friend, it can stop bugging me already!" She placed her hands on her hips and glared down at the poor Worm Pokémon. "If you're a Pokémon, get out of my face and into the Pokéball!" Hearing this, Caterpie froze as he felt pain filling up his heart from Misty's rejection to accept him as her friend. With his head down, Caterpie turned and crawled away towards his Pokéball.

Seeing this, Ash glared at the girl. "Misty, you are so unbelievable! Caterpie means no harm! Why it likes you I'll never know." Ash turns back to Caterpie and he falls down on his front, crawling beside Caterpie. "Caterpie, are you alright?" The Worm Pokémon ignored his Trainer's concerned question and taps his Pokéball, which split opened and Caterpie was reabsorbed into it in the form of a red glow. Ash got up and removed his sleeping bag before turning back to Misty and spoke. "Alright, Misty, you owe Caterpie an apology. Pokémon have feelings too, you know."

Misty turns away, folding her arms as she scoffed at Ash.

Ash lowered himself down and picked up Caterpie's Pokéball. "Come on, Caterpie. You don't have to worry. Someday, we'll show her!"

Then, the sound of wings flapping caught all of their attention as a Pokémon flew by Pikachu and landing next to a patch of grass. The Pokémon was a raptor-like avian Pokémon. It was covered with brown feathers, and had a cream-colored face and underside. It had a crest of pinkish-red feathers on its head and black, angular markings behind its eyes. The plumage of its tail had alternating red and yellow feathers with ragged tips. Its beak and legs were pink, and it had powerful, sharp talons.

Ash quickly picks up his hat and his Pokédex as he points the device at the Pokémon. "It's a Pidgeotto!"

"Pidgeotto, an evolved form of the Pidgey. It is armed with sharp claws and dives from the sky to capture its prey. Unlike the more gentle Pidgey, Pidgeotto can be dangerous. Approach with extreme caution."

Smiling, Ash puts his Pokédex away and pulls out a Pokéball. "Alright, Pidgeotto. I'll show you who's the dangerous one around here." Without any thoughts, Ash tossed the Pokéball at it, which Pidgeotto swats away with its wing.

The Pokéball fell back and rolled towards Ash as he stood there dumbfounded. Misty rolled her eyes and sighed. "You don't get it, do you? You don't just throw a Pokéball and capture a Pokémon. You have to make it battle and weaken it first! The only reason you got to catch Caterpie is because it's already a weakling!"

"Give me a break," Ash retorted. "I just started two days ago! And quit picking on Caterpie! Now if you'd kindly keep your big mouth shut, you'll see how it's done!" Ash turned his head back to the occupied Pidgeotto and gritted his teeth as one thought ran through his mind. _"How will I do this? Caterpie's a Bug Pokémon and Pidgeotto is a Flying Pokémon. Bug types are weak against Flying type so I'm at a disadvantage."_ Just then, a realization hit him and he turned to Pikachu.

"Pikachu, you're up!" Ash cried.

The Mouse Pokémon nodded as he made his way over towards Ash. "Alright, Pikachu! Your Electric attacks will work well against Pidgeotto! So use Thunder Shock!" Pikachu grinned as sparks crackled along his cheeks before he discharged them at the Bird Pokémon, who had just turned at that moment and flew up into the air to avoid the attack.

As the attack zapped the ground, Ash gritted his teeth. "Look out, Pikachu. Here it comes!" Pikachu stood firmly on his feet as the Pidgeotto turned, diving down towards the Mouse Pokémon. Pidgeotto swooped in, folding its wings back to gain more momentum as it did. Pikachu anticipated this thanks to Ash's warning and he leapt over the Bird Pokémon.

Misty stared at the scene, clearly impressed by Pikachu's movements and maybe even Ash's skills as she muttered to herself. "He may look like a twit, but he's actually a good Trainer. And Pikachu...who knew a Pikachu could move that fast?"

Pidgeotto swirled as it flew back towards the sky. It's eyes glared intensively at the Mouse Pokémon as it dove down once more. This time, a white glow formed along its body, leaving a white trail behind as it continued diving down towards Pikachu.

"What's that?!" Ash asked, stunned by the new attack he had never seen before.

Misty sighed. "That's Quick Attack, you idiot. It's the most basic of attacks you can think of. And to think I was even changing my thoughts of you..."

Ash turned his attention back to Pikachu. "Alright, Pikachu! Dodge it again!" The Mouse Pokémon nodded his head as he leapt once more, landing on Pidgeotto's head and hopping off the second he had landed. Pidgeotto crashed onto the ground and skidded to a halt as its beak became stuck under the ground. Pidgeotto's eyes widened in surprise when it realized this and quickly struggled to pull its beak out but the strength it needed had already been used up diving down constantly.

Smiling, Ash cried. "Pikachu, Thunder Shock!" The Pokémon complied as sparks of electricity crackled again on his cheeks. Pikachu raised his paws up and arced them as he fell onto all four once more, releasing his electric attack on the Bird Pokémon.

This time, Pidgeotto couldn't dodge the attack and it ended up taking the effective attack head on. It squawked in pain but its voice couldn't be heard as its beak was still stuck to the ground. The next thing it knew, the attack stopped and Pidgeotto collapsed, falling onto its two legs.

Ash grabbed one of his empty Pokéball and grinned as he winded up his arm. "Pokéball, go!" He tossed the Pokéball.

As it hurled towards the unconscious Pokéball, the two humans and Pikachu waited anxiously as the Pokéball struck Pidgeotto's head. The Pokéball split opened, engulfing Pidgeotto in a red glow which absorbed the Bird Pokémon back into the capsule. The Pokéball closed as it fell onto the ground. The button on the Pokéball blinked red from seconds to seconds as it shook for a few times. But then...it stopped.

Seeing this, Ash froze for a moment. His lips twitched momentarily before breaking out into a grin as he threw his arms into the air. "We did it!"

"Pikachu!" Cried the Mouse Pokémon, doing a small victory pose.

Ash picked up Pidgeotto's Pokéball, smirking as he turned to face Misty. He walked up to her and spoke. "Well? What do you think? Aren't I the greatest?"

Misty scoffed. "At least you have some knowledge of Pokémon Battles. Here I was thinking that you wanted to prove that Caterpie isn't weak by sending it out. If you had done that, I would have said that you are the worst Pokémon Trainer in the whole world. After all, the Pokémon Trainer's judgement is more important than anything else. Luckily for you, at least you have a brain that has that judgement."

Glaring at her, Ash spoke. "Well, I didn't mess it up. But I'll make sure Caterpie proves that it isn't weak and you can bet on it!"

Just then, the laughter of a familiar woman echoed throughout the area, followed by another familiar voice. "So, we meet again."

"I...I know those voices," Ash said, raising an eyebrow.

As if on cue, a gush of wind blew past them with a trail of dust at its back. As the dust cleared, three familiar figures stood before the two 10 year old children. It was Team Rocket, who immediately began their motto. **(A/N: Of course, you all already know who says what in the motto so I don't have to be describing much or I'm just wasting my time. Alright, back to the story!)**

"To protect the world from devastation..."

"To unite all people within our nation..."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love..."

"To extend our reach to the stars above..."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!"

Ash stood in his place, emotionless. "Not this again..." Putting his hands behind his head, Ash stopped beside Pikachu. "Uh...we're kind of busy now so if you..."

"Quiet, little boy!" Jessie interrupted. "We're not here to listen to you. We're here to get your Pokémon!"

James smiled. "Hand over that Pikachu and of course, that rare Egg of yours."

Hearing this, Ash immediately ran over to the tree trunk and grabbed the Jewel of Life. "This is my Pikachu and my Egg! Go out and find your own!"

Jessie scoffed. "The only Pikachu and Egg we want are those!"

"We're only looking for the most rarest and valuable Pokémon in the world, kid," James continued. "And that special Pikachu and Egg are just the kind that we need."

A tick grew on Meowth's forehead as he leapt down from their shoulders, proceeding to attack them with his Fury Swipes attack, leaving scratch marks on their faces as he yelled. "Will you two stop giving away our secrets?!"

"Is my Pikachu and my Egg really that special?" Ash asked.

Meowth halted his attacks and turned towards Ash as he leapt down from his two partners' shoulders. "Your Pikachu is really special. Its power's impressed even me as it exceeds its evolutionary level! And your Egg. No Pokémon Egg has ever been able to use an attack before it hatched nor are they transparent and perfectly sphere-like. For it to use Flash on me, it must be one of the rarest and..."

The Scratch Car Pokémon was immediately interrupted by his team-mates, who silenced him by repeatedly stomping on him.

"Now you're giving away our secrets!" Jessie cried out in frustration.

"Shut up before you tell them everything!" James continued.

"I'm in charge so cut it out!" Meowth yelled again.

Ash narrowed his eyes at them. "Well, you're not getting either of them! They're mine and I won't let you take them!"

"Then you leave us no choice," James responded as he and Jessie pulled out their Pokémon. "It's a Pokémon battle then!" As the two tossed their Pokéballs out, both of their Pokémon, Koffing and Ekans, emerged from the capsules.

Seeing this, Ash's eyes widened. "Hey! Two against one is cheating!"

Jessie flicked her hair and laughed. "Well, as we say, all is fair in love, war and Pokémon battles."

Misty brought her hand to her face. "Ash...don't tell me you think that they'll follow the rules of the Pokémon League, do you?"

"Uh...maybe?"

"THEN GET THAT THOUGHT OUT OF YOUR MIND!" Misty bellowed, forcing Ash to cover his ears from the loudness of her voice as she continued. "If you follow the rules, you're going to lose all your Pokémon."

Ash gritted his teeth as Misty's words entered his ears. "You're right. I can't just keep on following the rules. Pikachu, get moving. And Pidgeotto, get out here and help Pikachu out!" As Pikachu scrambled upfront, Pidgeotto emerged from its Pokéball and hovered above the ground beside Pikachu. The two, who had been enemies minutes ago, turned to each other and nodded with a grin on their faces before turning back to Team Rocket.

"Enough talk!" James cried as he pulls out a rose from out of nowhere. "Koffing, Tackle!" Koffing complied to its Trainer's command and hurled itself forward towards the two Pokémon.

"Pikachu, Pidgeotto, dodge it!" The two Pokémon reacted to their commands. Pikachu crouched as he waited for Koffing to close in. When it did, Pikachu leapt up onto its head and hopped off, sending Koffing crashing into the ground as it slides towards Pidgeotto, who spread its wings and took to the sky, avoiding the Poison Gas Pokémon.

James gritted his teeth. "Koffing! Get up and use your Sludge attack on that vermin!" Koffing immediately got up from the ground and turned towards Pikachu as it opened its mouth, firing dark brown sludge at the Mouse Pokémon.

"Alright, Pikachu!" Ash called out. "move out of the way and Pidgeotto, use Quick Attack!"

The Pokémon all moved according to Ash's commands as Pikachu jumped, dodging the sludge while Pidgeotto dove down towards Koffing, emitting the same white glow from before.

Jessie grinned. "Not so fast! Ekans, use Wrap!" Ekans slithered towards Koffing as it lunged upwards at the incoming Quick Attack from Pidgeotto. Ekans coiled itself, wrapping its body around the Bird Pokémon and cancelling its Quick Attack.

"Oh no! Pidgeotto!" Ash cried out. "Pikachu, help Pidgeotto with Thunder Shock!"

This time, James was smiling. With a wave of his rose, James spoke. "Koffing, Sludge attack on Pikachu!" Before Pikachu could even prepare his attack, Koffing had fired another round of sludge at the Mouse Pokémon. This time, the sludge made a direct hit. Pikachu flinched from the attack and shut his eyes tightly as he tried to wipe it off.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried out worriedly but that wasn't the end of the bad news. At that moment, Ekans's Wrap attack had made Pidgeotto succumb to it, causing Pidgeotto to faint as Ekans uncoiled from it.

Ash pulled out Pidgeotto's Pokéball and pointed it towards the Bird Pokémon, returning it into its capsule before picking Pikachu up in his arms and handing him over to Misty. Then, he turned to Team Rocket. "If you think you can use your dirty tricks to beat me, you're wrong!" He quickly turns back to Misty and whispered to her. "They might try anything to get what they want. But no matter what happens, don't let them have Pikachu, understand?"

"But what about the Egg?" Misty asked.

Placing a hand over it on his vest's pocket, Ash replied. "It'll be safe. I promise."

"So, what's you're battle plan now?" Jessie taunted.

Ash gritted his teeth and faced the ground, thinking hard to himself. _"Looks like I have no other choice. I'm going to have to use Caterpie to battle those two. But what could I do? If only I knew what attacks Caterpie has..."_ Ash cast the thought aside as he pulled out Caterpie's Pokéball. "Caterpie, I choose you!" The Pokéball split opened, releasing Caterpie from it.

"What's that?" James asked as he, Jessie and Meowth stared at the Worm Pokémon.

"It's a Bug Pokémon, a measly little Bug Pokémon," Meowth replied.

Then, the three Team Rocket members burst out laughing as Koffing and Ekans lunged at Caterpie. Without a second wasted, the two Pokémon collided with Caterpie, sending the Worm Pokémon flying into the air as he screeched in pain. Ekans slithered around the ground as Koffing hovered up, slamming its spherical body into Caterpie and sending him straight down towards Ekans.

"Come on...what moves does Caterpie know?" Ash muttered to himself as he helplessly watched his poor Caterpie being slapped by Ekans's tail, which sent the Worm Pokémon crashing against a tree and falling onto the ground with a thud.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried out, still trying to wipe the sludge off his face.

"Hang in there..." Misty muttered as she, for the first time, showed concern for Caterpie.

Bruises began appearing on Caterpie's body as Ekans and Koffing continued playing around, abusing Caterpie for their joy while James and Jessie snickered at how weak Caterpie was.

Caterpie collapsed onto the ground once more as he struggled back to his feet. He may have been bruised more than a couple of times, but that wasn't going to stop him from achieving what he wanted. _"For my sake and for Ash's, I won't lose this. I WILL evolve! I WILL become stronger! And for the sake of the Son of Arceus, I WILL not disappoint him!"_

As the two Pokémon advanced closer to Caterpie once more, Ash finally realized what he was trying to remember. He quickly called out to the Worm Pokémon. "Caterpie, use String Shot!" And as he was told, Caterpie shoots white string from his mouth. Koffing, who was the nearest, was struck first and Caterpie's white string had wrapped around Koffing almost instantly, sealing him in a cocoon-like trap. Then, Ekans slithered over to the Worm Pokémon, who repeated his attack, wrapping Ekans's mouth with his String Shot attack. With the two Pokémon concealed in his trap, Caterpie rushed towards them and attacking Koffing and knocking the Poison Gas Pokémon into Ekans as both of them were sent flying past their Trainers.

James's rose dropped as he and Jessie turned to the direction that their Pokémon were heading. "Beaten by a Caterpie?"

"That really bugs me!" Jessie growled.

Meowth stepped forward with his claws glittering. "Now watch a real Pokémon in action." Unfortunately, his time to shine was immediately over the moment Caterpie repeated his String Shot attack. Before Meowth knew it, he was concealed in the String Shot, immobilizing him completely.

Jessie and James grabbed their immobilized team-mate and took off. "You may have won this round, but we'll be back!"

Smiling, Ash picked up Caterpie. "You did it, Caterpie! You beat them all by yourself!" The Worm Pokémon squealed in delight from the praise. "I'm very proud of you, pal. This victory's thanks to you."

Misty walked over to them and smiled. "You're stronger than you look, Caterpie."

Pikachu, now being able to open his eyes, smiled as well. "Pika! Pika!"

Then, Ash spoke. "Well Misty, I guess you feel different about Caterpie now." As he lifted the Worm Pokémon up closer to Misty, he continued. "So, why don't you two make up? Just pet it on the head and tell it that it's done a very good job. You like Pokémon so it's only right to congratulate one for doing a good job."

"I...I guess you're right..." Misty hesitated for a moment as she brought her hand up and slowly moved it towards the Worm Pokémon's head. Misty swallowed her saliva as her hand neared Caterpie, anxiety eating away at her will as well. But then, Caterpie was instantly engulfed in a bright light, which caused Misty to flinch as Ash put the Worm Pokémon down.

"What's going on?" Ash asked.

His answer came the next moment when the light faded away, leaving a new Pokémon in Caterpie's place which looked like a green cocoon with a pair of eyes.

"I...it evolved?!" Misty gasped.

Ash quickly pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it at Caterpie's new form. The Pokédex immediately responded. "Metapod, Caterpie's next stage. It has encased its body in a hard shell. This specimen reached this stage faster than any previously discovered Pokémon of this variety."

Ash smiled. "Hey...doesn't that mean that it could keep on changing and go on to the next stage?" Pikachu approached Caterpie, now Metapod, and stared admiringly at him, remembering what he had told him during the night before when the Worm Pokémon had decided on its fate. Ash picked up the Cocoon Pokémon and smiled. "Hello, Metapod. Not in the mood to talk?" Ash laughed at his own horrible joke and hugged the Cocoon Pokémon.

Misty watched the scene with a smile. "He might be an idiot but he does care for his Pokémon." Just when she was calming down, Ash suddenly appeared in front of her, with Metapod raised close to her face. She screamed in fear from how close the distance was between her and Metapod.

Ash grinned mischievously. "Misty, you two were just about to make friends. You didn't forget, did you?"

"I didn't forget...but...but I..." Misty froze when a buzzing sound entered her ears. From her left, another Bug Pokémon flew by, It mostly resembles a bipedal wasp. Its head was round with a slightly pointed mouth, large, red eyes, and antennae in the shape of the number seven. Its forelegs were tipped with long, conical stingers. Its two legs floated in the air, which are long, segmented, and insectoid in shape. The Pokémon had two pairs of rounded, veined wings, and another stinger on its striped abdomen.

Misty turned blue as she fell to her knees. "I'll do anything! Let's just get out of this forest!"

"No way!" Ash cried. "There's still tons of Pokémon I haven't caught. That Pokémon will be my next one!" Putting Metapod in his backpack, Ash and Pikachu began following the wasp-like Pokémon and Misty ran after them, not wanting to be left alone in the Bug Pokémon-infested forest.

* * *

 **Me: Finally! Some peace and quiet. This concludes the end of this chapter! Be sure to come back next time(undecided yet. Maybe in a week or two?) and see the evolution of Metapod! Of course, as I had said before, there will be changes made to episodes I choose to use. And of course, Ash will receive more** **Pokémon compared to the show. Who's up for that, huh? Ready to see Ash REALLY catch 'em all? Well, not all but you know what I mean.**

 **Arcus: Anyway, the poll for who's the first and second Pokémon from my original team gets to be back first after I hatch is still up until a week after the chapter where Brock is finally introduced. So, keep the votes up! Those in the reviews count, of course. But Cross and I would prefer you guys to vote and make life easy for us since we hate Mathematics.**

 **Me: Other than that, hope you've enjoyed the chapter and keep up the reviews and favs!**


	6. Chapter 4: Butterfree and Beedrill

**Chapter 4: Butterfree and Beedrill**

 **Me: And~ we're back! Welcome to chapter 4 of this wonderful story!**

 **Arcus: *Yawns* Whatever. So what's going to happen here?**

 **Me: No spoilers. Just that the chapter's different from the show like what I had mentioned in the previous chapter. But mainly, Metapod evolves like in the show but it will be different from that. And of course, there won't be the annoying Samurai Boy to interrupt.**

 **Arcus: So is it time for the disclaimer?**

 **Me: Yep!**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own Pokémon but I do own Arcus and any other OCs in this story.**

* * *

 **Response to Guest review:**

 **Guest: I already planned out Arcus's chapter of being hatched but thanks for the reminder since I had the same idea as you.**

 **THE CREATOR: Let me go check that out...*checks previous response to review* Oh, what do you know, it really does sound like a threat. Sorry about that, Creator! *bows apologetically* I was just in a rush to type all of it since I had at least two minutes before my classes started so I just typed what I just thought and it was done on my phone. What I really meant from it was that I just don't like seeing sarcasm. I'm not a big fan of it. Of course I hope you'd forgive me for the misunderstanding.**

* * *

"AAAAHHHH!" Misty screamed.

Ash and Pikachu quickly ran over to their friend and the boy's eyes quickly darted around as he asked the frightened girl. "What? What is it? Did another Pokémon appear?"

"I-I don't know!" Misty responded, her body shaking in fear. "It...it was all slimy and long...and it crawled over my leg!"

"Maybe it's another Bug Pokémon!" Ash cried out in delight, receiving a slap from Misty.

"No, you twit!" Misty screamed as she looked around. "I know it's still here somewhere. Come one, Ash. Let's just get out of here and forget the Pokémon in this forest! There are plenty of other Pokémon outside of here, which aren't Bug Pokémon!" Just then, Misty felt something rubbing against her leg. Misty froze and turned her head, slowly. Then, she leapt and screamed as she hugged the branch above her. "THERE IT IS!"

Ash and Pikachu looked towards the direction which Misty was pointing at, only to spot a Pokémon which was crawling towards the tree Misty was hanging on to. The Pokémon was a small larva Pokémon with a beige, yellow, or rust-colored segmented body. It also had a conical, two-inch venomous stinger on its head and a barbed one on its tail, but its other body parts were spherical.

"It's a Weedle!" Ash smiled as he brought out his Pokédex, which began displaying an image of the Pokémon on its screen and giving its information.

"Weedle has an extremely acute sense of smell. It is capable of distinguishing its favorite kinds of leaves from those it dislikes just by sniffing with its big red proboscis. The stinger on this Pokémon's head guarantees that any attacker will get the point right where it hurt."

"A stinger, huh? Now there's a challenge..."

Misty, still hanging from the tree branch, screamed. "Hurry up and get rid of the Bug Pokémon, will you! I can't stand it! Make it go away!"

Ash nodded as he reached for his Pokéballs and picked out Pidgeotto's Pokéball and turning his cap to the opposite side. "Alright, Pidgeotto! Go!" The Pokéball was flung forward and split opened, releasing a white glow from it as Pidgeotto's silhouette formed, surprising Weedle. As the glow faded away, Pidgeotto stared down at the surprised Hairy Bug Pokémon and scoffed.

"Take to the sky, Pidgeotto!" Ash cried.

Pidgeotto complied to its trainer and lifted its wings and flapped them, lifting it up into the air as a small dust cloud blew towards Weedle. Once Pidgeotto was in the air, Ash gave another order. "Now use Gust!" Pidgeotto paused in the air and flapped its wings as fast as it could, causing a gush of wind to blow Weedle off the ground.

Weedle span around as it lowered its head, pointing its stinger at Pidgeotto. Weedle's body squeezed, folding as its body moved forward. Then, it sprang off the ground the moment it made contact with the ground, launching itself towards Pidgeotto.

"Watch out for the stinger, Pidgeotto!"

Heeding the warning, Pidgeotto lifted its body higher, just in time for Weedle to bypass it.

As Weedle landed, it quickly turned around and launched itself again. But for some reason, it had became faster.

"Here it comes again, Pidgeotto," Ash said. "Quick! Use Gust one more time!" Pidgeotto did as what it was told and span around, flapping its wings again and creating another gush of wind which knocked Weedle back. The Hairy Bug Pokémon crashed back onto the ground once more but this time, it was stuck. Its horn had pierced through the ground and it was unable to remove it.

Ash smirked as he pulled out an empty Pokéball. "Alright, now I can capture it. Pokéball, go!" Ash tosses the Pokéball and the capsule flew towards Weedle.

Seeing it, the Hairy Bug Pokémon panicked as it struggled desperately to get itself out of the ground. However, it didn't have the strength left for it and closed its eyes as the Pokéball neared it.

The Pokéball was nearing Weedle and Ash's smirk never left his face as he waited in anticipation. The capsule was soon an inch away from the Hairy Bug Pokémon and Ash almost screamed with joy but it was short-lasted when something swooped down from the trees, knocking the Pokéball out of Weedle's way and shocking Ash, Pikachu and Misty.

The mysterious Pokémon hovered above the ground and swung its left stinger at the ground, creating a small gap on it as Weedle squirmed out of it and crawled away.

"Hey! It's getting away!" Ash cried as he tried to chase it, but was immediately stopped by the mysterious Pokémon. "Wait a minute..." Ash said, backing away a little. "Didn't we just saw one of these?"

Misty, feeling fearful all over again, hid behind him and yelled. "That's a Beedrill, alright! Now get it out of here!"

"A Beedrill, huh?" Ash muttered as he pulled out his Pokédex, which quickly displayed an image of said Pokémon.

"Beedrill, the Poison Bee Pokémon. Beedrill fly quickly and attack using poison stingers on their fore legs and tail."

A drop of sweat appeared on Ash's forehead. "Uh oh...looks like it's dangerous."

"You don't say..." Misty deadpanned.

The Beedrill's stingers began to raise up and before the two kids knew it, the Beedrill had flew past them, almost slashing their faces with its stingers.

"AAAAHHHH!" Misty screamed before running off into the forest. Ash, however, stayed behind bravely, or maybe stupidly, as he scoffed at the attack. Ash turned towards Pidgeotto and nodded. Pidgeotto nodded back and it took to the sky, chasing after the Poison Bee Pokémon.

"Pidgeotto, use Quick Attack!"

The Bird Pokémon flew above Beedrill, catching it by surprise as it folded its wings onto its body while a white glow emitted from it. Beedrill raised its stingers up and crossed them, stopping Pidgeotto's attack. As the Bird Pokémon flinched in pain, Beedrill was knocked back fore it regained its balance in the air. Beedrill sent a glare towards the Bird Pokémon as it raises its stingers up once more at Pidgeotto. Before the Bird Pokémon could react, the stingers were continuously thrust towards it at blinding speed.

Pidgeotto squawked in pain as the stingers clashed against its body. The Bird Pokémon crashed on its back against the ground as a small cloud dust formed around it while Beedrill hovered above it.

"Pidgeotto!" Ash cried out. "Come on, pal! Get up! I know you can." However, as the cloud of dust faded away, Pidgeotto was struggling to get to its feet. It looked weaken with the bruises and cuts on its body. Then, it collapsed. Ash stood there, dumbfounded. "Wait...Beedrill's a Bug type Pokémon. So how did Pidgeotto lost to it? Could it be..." He quickly reached for his Pokédex again and pointed it at Beedrill.

"Beedrill's attack, Twineedle, allows Beedrill to attack its opponents with consecutive jabs of its two front stingers which may even poison the opposing Pokémon as well."

"So it was Twineedle, huh?" Ash muttered before turning towards Pikachu. "Pikachu, you're up!" The Mouse Pokémon gave him a nod as he approached Beedrill while Ash brought out Pidgeotto's Pokéball. "Return, Pidgeotto." Once the Bird Pokémon was reabsorbed by the Pokéball, Ash smiled. "You did well. Pikachu will handle it from here." After placing Pidgeotto's capsule back, Ash turned back to Pikachu. "Alright, it's time for you to get it! Use Thunder Shock!"

Pikachu grinned as sparks of electricity formed on his cheeks. With his attention on Beedrill, Pikachu released his electricity, forming lightning bolts that shot towards the Poison Bee Pokémon. However, Beedrill anticipated this and tilted its body, avoiding the attack.

Before Pikachu could react, Beedrill was right in front of him, surprising the Mouse Pokémon as Beedrill commenced its second Twineedle attack.

"Pikachu! Dodge it, quick!" Ash cried out.

The stingers came towards Pikachu at blinding speed. But as the most agile Pokémon, Pikachu dodged the attacks with ease. Beedrill didn't give up. It continued thrusting its stingers at Pikachu, who was also continuing to dodge the attack. Then, one of the stingers struck Pikachu on his arm and everything stopped.

Not a single movement was made by anybody as a small gust of wind passed by, bringing along a few leaves past the two Pokémon.

Pikachu collapsed on his back, fainting while Beedrill hovered above him.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried. _"How am I going to beat a_ _Pokémon this strong? The only Pokémon I have now is..."_ Pushing the negative thought back, Ash brought out Metapod's Pokéball. "You're my last hope to win this battle, Metapod. I'm counting on you." As the Pokéball was tossed, Metapod came out from it in a white glow.

Beedrill gave the Cocoon Pokémon a puzzled look but quickly changed its look back into a glare as it raised its stingers up once more and performed its third Twineedle attack.

"Harden!"

A greenish-whitish glow emits from Metapod as the stingers neared him. Then, the stingers made contact with Metapod's body, and they were immediately deflected. Beedrill showed its puzzled looks once again as it continued its assault on the Cocoon Pokémon, only to receive the same results again and again.

Smirking, Ash spoke. "Metapod's Harden will stop anything. You can't beat it, Beedrill!"

Beedrill grew irritated by the boy's reason, even if it was actually true. The Poison Bee Pokémon continued its attack, still only to have the Cocoon Pokémon to deflect them.

"Give it up," Ash laughed, folding his arms. "There's no way you're going to...huh?"

At that moment, buzzing could be heard above him. Ash looked up and gasped as he went wide-eyed. Right above him was a swarm of Beedrill, all glaring furiously at him and Metapod. Ash backed away as the swarm descended towards them. Ash picked up Pikachu and held him tightly. "Why are they here? What did we..." That's when he saw it, the Weedle from before, resting on top of one of the Beedrill. "That Weedle must have called its friends."

Just as soon as the Beedrill all noticed Ash, they raised their stingers and dove down at the boy and the unconscious Pikachu. Ash yelped in surprise as one of the Beedrill whizzed past his face and he quickly pulled out Metapod's Pokéball. "Return, Metapod!" As the red light emerged from the Pokéball, one of the Beedrill grabbed Metapod and lifted him off the ground, causing the red glow to hit a tree.

"Hey!" Ash called out to the Beedrill. "Give me back my Metapod!" His demands fell on deaf ears as the Beedrill left with Metapod while the rest continued their assault on Ash. "Uh oh..." Ash muttered as he tightly clutched Pikachu and turned around before taking off towards the direction which Misty had ran off to with the Beedrill in pursuit.

* * *

Misty panted heavily as she collapsed against a tree. "What is up...with this...Bug Pokémon-infested forest?!" Misty lowered her bag and placed it on the ground as she relaxed herself, rubbing her shoulders as well.

Just then, a small sized object dropped from the top of the tree by the end of a silk thread. It lowered itself closer to Misty, who shivered in fear as her head slowly turned, only to find a yellow, cocoon-like Pokémon. It had a dome-shaped head and black, triangular eyes. It also had two scythe-like arms in the middle of its body.

"Ka-Kakuna?!" Misty stuttered as she backed away from the Cocoon Pokémon. "WHY DO THESE THINGS ALWAYS COME TO ME?!" She turned, grabbed her bag and sprinted off once more as Kakuna sweat dropped and pulled itself up the tree again.

As she was running for her life, Misty turned a corner, smacking right into Ash.

The two fell on their backs and they both moaned in pain as they rubbed their heads.

"Misty? Is that you?"

"Of course it's me, you moron!" Misty cried as she knocked him on the head. "So are you done playing Pokémon Battle and we can finally get out of here?"

Ash scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously as he replied. "Well...they might be able to answer your question..." Misty turned her head towards the direction which Ash had pointed out. Then, she paled. Surrounding them was the swarm of Beedrill, a total nightmare for the redhead. Ash backed away and she followed. "So Misty, wanna run?"

"You read my mind..." Misty replied, still paled from what she was standing in.

Before the Beedrill could react, the two humans and the unconscious Pikachu in Ash's arms made their escape. Moments later, the Beedrill pursued them as quickly as they could.

"So what happened during the battle?" Misty demanded as they continued their escape from the Beedrill.

Ash panted. "Well...you could say that the Weedle went to call its friends and then they captured Metapod and then they chased me and here we are."

Misty groaned as she rolled her eyes. "Great! Not only did you screwed up a battle, you let the Weedle get away to get its revenge and then you lost Metapod. Congrats, Ash. You're an _amazing_ Trainer."

Ash glared at her. "Oh shut it! Right now, the most important thing we need to do is get rid of the Beedrill. Then we can discuss about the issue later."

The two turned to their right and they gasped. Right in front of them was, conveniently, a cabin. The two test their lucks and rushed towards it, making no room for hesitation as they pulled the door open before Ash closed it. At that moment, however, a stinger struck the wooden door and Ash flinched when the stinger nearly hit his face.

More stingers pierced through the door and walls of the cabin but they slowly left, one by one. Soon, all the Beedrill had removed their stingers and their buzzing noises had faded into the air.

Once all of the Beedrill were gone, the two eased up and relaxed. Ash heaved a sigh. "That was a close call, wasn't it, Misty?"

Misty remained silent, glaring at him. "We may have escape those disgusting Bug Pokémon, you still lost Metapod. What kind of Trainer does that?!"

"Hey!" Ash cried. "Those Beedrill came out of nowhere! You can't blame me for it!"

"A real Trainer would have manned up and admit his wrongdoings, Ash," Misty retorted, causing Ash to flinch as she continued. "There's no one to blame except yourself, Ash. You were the only one there that could have saved Metapod before it was taken away by the Beedrill. You are a horrible Trainer!"

Ash gritted his teeth. "Well, I would have been able to save Metapod if _someone_ hadn't ran away just because a Bug Pokémon appeared. If you had just stayed, then you could have helped me save Metapod. But no! Instead, you took off because of your stupid fear of Bug Pokémon!"

Misty's eye twitched in anger. "You know what? Fine. Figure out how you're going to save Metapod yourself. I am not going to help you at all." Folding her arms, she turned away and stomped off towards the other side of the room, leaving Ash and an unconscious Pikachu alone near the door.

* * *

 **Meanwhile:**

The Beedrill released its grip on Metapod, causing the Cocoon Pokémon to fall onto the ground with a thud. "Hey! That hurts!"

Ignoring Metapod's displeased tone, the Beedrill turned to another Beedrill and began their conversation.

"The Metapod has come into contact with the Son of Arceus."

"You can't be serious..."

"It's true! The aura he gives off is what the elder once described as the aura of Arceus's son. In fact, the Metapod's Trainer and the other two Pokémon, the Pidgeotto and the Pikachu, all had the aura. You don't think that they might..."

"From what you saw, it could be the only reason. The Son of Arceus will hatch soon and you will be there to guide him."

"What about the Metapod?"

"Protect him from the other Beedrill. They are all morons compared to us and the deceased elder for they do not see the aura. Should they try to attack him, defend him. You were born to protect and fight, remember?."

"Understood."

The Beedrill both turned away from each other and the one from before made his way towards Metapod and hovered above him. "Rest assured, Metapod. You're protected by me from the other Beedrill around here."

Metapod stared at the Beedrill with a suspicious look and asked. "What do you mean protect me? How would I know that you won't turn against your own words?"

Beedrill landed on his legs and lowered himself so that he and Metapod were looking at each other in the eye as he replied. "Because I am one of the Beedrill chosen to watch over the Son of Arceus. For you to emit the aura of Arceus's son, you must be one of the Chosen Ones as well. So that makes us comrades...and brothers."

"Uh...yeah. Let's go with that..." Metapod replied back, sweat dropping.

"It must be good staying near Arceus's son, doesn't it?" Beedrill asked.

Metapod nodded. "You could say that. But he's still an Egg. But even so, it does feel like I'm part of a family again. My Trainer...Pikachu...Misty...I bet they're looking for me as we speak."

Beedrill scoffed. "Why would you put your faith in Humans? From my experience, I've seen them dumping their Pokémon in this forest and all of them see their Pokémon as nothing more than tools and weapons. If the Pokémon are weak, they're dumped in this forest, which is most of the time. And all of those Pokémon have grown a cold hatred towards the Humans, turning themselves back to their wild side, their natural side, the way they were meant to be."

"Ash is different," Metapod stated. "He's not like other Trainers you speak of. He's the kind that cares for his Pokémon. It was just yesterday when I was caught by him. His friend shunned me for being a Bug Pokémon. But he stood up for me. Both him and his Pikachu. He believed in me when he trusted me to battle Team Rocket, a group of humans and Pokémon that steals Pokémon from other Trainers. I managed to evolve into Metapod because of him so I can say that he is trustworthy."

"That was only one day, Metapod," Beedrill retorted. "It's going to take more than a day's experience with a human to try and get me to believe you. I need some convincing. Until then, I will never obey any humans and I will never let one catch me if it's the last thing I would do, which I won't because I am already a Chosen One." He stood back up, sticking out his chest which began to glow. Then, three claw marks soon appeared on his chest, jagged and pale-white. Beedrill smiled. "This is the sign of a Chosen One who will protect and guide Arceus's son in combat. What's yours?"

This time, Metapod was sweating hard. "Uh...well...I...I don't have one."

"What?" Beedrill asked, hoping that what he had heard was wrong.

"I don't have a mark, Beedrill," Metapod repeated. "I don't have the mark of the Chosen One which you speak of. I am just an ordinary Pokémon, captured and raised by a Trainer."

"Oh..." Beedrill said, sounding disappointed. "I guess we aren't brothers after all. Here I thought I have found another Pokémon who has the same destiny as me. But you have already come into contact with Arceus's son. That means that you are also one of his future guidance as well. So that still makes us comrades."

Metapod sighed. "But at least you're keeping me safe, right?"

Beedrill nodded. "Anyone who has the aura of Arceus's son has my protection. You can count on it."

* * *

 **The next morning:**

Ash couldn't sleep. He had been up for the entire night, thinking of Metapod. "Metapod...I hope you're alright..." Ash muttered as he got up. He turned to look at Pikachu, who was now resting beside Misty. Ash smiled at the sight of his Pokémon as he headed towards the door. As he exited the cabin, Ash closed the door behind him and pulled out Pidgeotto's Pokéball.

The Bird Pokémon soon emerged from the capsule and it hovered above the ground, looking at Ash.

"Pidgeotto, I need your help to find Metapod. I know he's still out there with those Beedrill and I want to make sure we get him back this time." Pidgeotto gave its Trainer a nod of acknowledgement and took to the sky with Ash following it from the ground.

It took them no more than half an hour before they encountered the Beedrill from yesterday, all fast asleep on top of a tree while Kakuna hung from the branches. Pidgeotto quickly landed next to its Trainers and they quickly hid behind a bush.

"Alright, those Beedrill are asleep. The only thing we need to do now is look for..." Before Ash could have finished his sentence, something landed on the back of his head, causing him to fall on his face. Pidgeotto blinked in surprised for a moment but then squawked when it realized who had landed on Ash's head.

"Do you know what game I like to play?" Meowth snickered as he leaps off Ash's head, only to unsheathe his claws and scratch him with them, leaving claw marks on the boy's face as Meowth ended his sentence with a smile. "Scratch and Sniffle."

Ash clutched his face in pain and yelped as softly as he could, not wanting to wake the Beedrill up.

"Guess who!"

Ash turned towards the sound and he gulped. "Oh no..."

"To protect the world from devastation..."

"To unite all people within our nation..."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love..."

"NO! Not now!"

A tick grew on Jessie's forehead as she waved off Ash's comment. "Don't interrupt the Team Rocket motto, boy!"

"But the Beedrill...you'll wake them up!" Ash replied, only to be ignored as the two resumed their motto.

"To extend our reach to the stars above..."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!"

Just then, Ash felt a frightening chill on his back and he slowly turned around. "Uh oh..." On the tree, the Beedrill were beginning to take off into the sky one by one, swarming out of the tree within moments.

Completely ignoring the swarm of Beedrill that was approaching, Jessie laughed. "Hand over your Pikachu and the Egg, little boy. There's no use trying to resist us and don't try to be smart because there's no way you will get away from us."

Ash looked at them with a dumbfounded look. "Do you guys not see the Beedrill?! And I don't have Pikachu with me at the moment and even if I did, I won't let you have it or the Egg!" Without any hesitation, Ash turned and ran towards the swarm with Pidgeotto following him from behind and with Team Rocket in pursuit. "Pidgeotto, we have to get past those Beedrill. If we do, they might attack Team Rocket instead."

Pidgeotto nodded to its Trainer and sped up as Ash cried out an order. "Pidgeotto, use Quick Attack to evade the Beedrill! After that, find Metapod!" Pidgeotto complied to his command and proceeded with its attack, emitting a white glow on its body as its speed increased, bypassing the swarm of Beedrill without them noticing anything. With the obstacles out of the way, Pidgeotto continued its way towards the tree where it soon spotted Metapod, resting at the foot of the tree.

The Bird Pokémon landed in front of Metapod with a smile as it spoke. "Metapod! Looks like I've found you."

Metapod glanced up at Pidgeotto with widened eyes. "Pidgeotto? But how? Is Ash with you?"

Nodding, Pidgeotto replied. "I searched from the sky, duh. I'm a Flying Pokémon, remember? Ash had me track you so we can rescue you. He'll be here shortly after he gets out of the way, of course. Hopefully he does."

At that moment, two Beedrill swooped down from above, ambushing Pidgeotto and catching him off guard. Fortunately for the Bird Pokémon, Metapod had got in between them and used his Harden, blocking the attack and forcing the two Beedrill to retreat for now. The Cocoon Pokémon turned to Pidgeotto. "You alright?"

Pidgeotto blinked and sighed in relief. "I guess. But I'm alright thanks to you."

"Metapod!" The two Pokémon turned, only to see Ash approaching them. Ash stopped and lowered himself down as he smiled. "So there you are! I'm glad I found you too. Team Rocket won't be messing with us for a while now since most of the Beedrill are chasing them." Ash brought out Metapod's Pokéball and his smile soon faded. "Metapod...I hope you will forgive me. I know I was wrong for letting the Beedrill take you away like that. If I was a better Trainer, I would have looked after you. I'm sorry, Metapod..."

Ash looked up, surprised to see Metapod's eyes softened and at the verge of tearing up. But that was soon over when Ash realized that a Beedrill was diving towards him with both its front stingers up and aimed at him.

"Ash! Watch out for the Twineedle attack!"

Ash's eyes darted to his right and he soon spotted both Misty and Pikachu, standing by a safe area where none of the remaining Beedrill weren't looking at. Then, his eyes shifted back to the incoming Beedrill as he raised his arm up to defend himself, an instinctive reflex. However, he felt a small gush of air rush passed him and he lowered his arm. Ash then gasped when he realized what had happened within the moments of attack.

Metapod had leapt in front of him, only for the Beedrill's stinger to slash his body, leaving a large cut on him as he fell onto the ground. At the same time, one of the Beedrill's stingers had chipped off, causing it to flee as fast as it could.

"Metapod!" Ash cried as he knelt down to pick up the Cocoon Pokémon. "Metapod, are you alright?" Then, a faint white light appeared from the cut and a moment later, the light burst through it, causing Ash and Misty to shield their eyes while Pikachu and Pidgeotto gaze at it with admiration.

 _"It's happening again!"_ Pikachu thought as he, Pidgeotto and the two humans watch a pair of wings emerge from Metapod's body, followed by a purple body and a pair of red eyes. Metapod had evolved yet again!

As Metapod's newly evolved form, Butterfree, took to the sky, Ash pulled out his Pokédex to gather information on it, with his jaw dropped.

"Butterfree, the Butterfly Pokémon. Butterfree is the evolved form of Metapod. The scales covering its wings help it to shed water."

"It's beautiful!" Misty cooed as Butterfree hovered above them.

However, the small celebration was cut short yet again when the swarm of Beedrill returned. Butterfree flew over to Ash, giving the boy a nod. Ash smiled in return as he gave the Pokédex a quick glance to see Butterfree's moves. "Okay! Butterfree, knock them out with your Sleep Powder!" The Butterfly Pokémon complied to Ash's command and flew higher up into the sky where he began flapping his wings, releasing sparkling blue powder into the air.

As the wind, conveniently, begins to blow, the powder was soon drifting on the wind and spreading across the area. The powder soon covered the entire open field where one by one, the Beedrill all collapsed, unconscious instantly from the Sleep Powder.

Then, Ash grinned as he pulled out an empty Pokéball. "This time for sure, I'm going to catch a Pokémon! Go, Pokéball!" Tossing his Pokéball, the capsule bounced off the head of the nearest Beedrill, causing the capsule to split open while a red glow emitted from the Beedrill's body, absorbing the Pokémon into the Pokéball. The capsule landed on the ground, where the button on it blinked red while the Pokéball shook a few times, making Ash and the others wait in anticipation. Then, it stopped.

Nobody moved. Not a single sound could be heard except for the wind blowing against them. Ash made the first move, walking over to the Pokéball. As he picked it up, his body was shaking. Then, he burst into tears of joy. "WE DID IT!" He turned back to the others, pointing the Pokéball at them as he grinned. "We caught Beedrill!"

"Pika!" Pikachu squealed, posing with a victory pose while Pidgeotto squawked happily.

Misty sighed in relief but she quickly pressed her hand against her forehead. "Great...another Bug Pokémon..."

Ash then approached Butterfree. "Butterfree, this victory is yours. It's because of you, we got a new friend. Not only that, you evolved too! Now that's a win-win!" Butterfree nodded as he chirped happily, hovering around Ash where his wings tickled the boy, making him laugh. "That's enough, Butterfree. You had enough trouble for today. You can get as much rest as you need. You too, Pidgeotto. Next stop, Pewter City!" Butterfree smiled as he tapped his Pokéball, which Ash had pulled out. The Pokéball then reabsorbed him into it before Ash placed it back on his belt, followed by Pidgeotto's Pokéball.

"So, are we done here? I want to get out of this creepy forest right away." Misty asked.

Ash nodded. "I would say so. Come on, Misty. You know the way to Pewter City, right? Let's go!"

Misty smiled. "Now we're talking. Let's go! And keep up the pace because I'm not going to slow down until we're out of this forest."

Just then, another Beedrill appeared in front of them, causing Misty to flinch in shock at its sudden appearance. Ash, however, grinned. "This Beedrill looks different. Look, Misty, it's got marks on its chest."

"Just when I thought we were in the clear...Ash, bring Butterfree out and put this one to sleep!"

The Beedrill ignored the two humans as he pointed towards Ash's vest. Ash blinked in surprise as he looked at where the Beedrill was pointing at. "Huh? The Egg?" As he pulled out the Jewel of Life from his vest's pocket, it began to glow before subsiding again. A similar glow soon emitted from the Beedrill and the two humans and Pikachu shielded their eyes.

When the glow had faded, the group gasped as soon as they saw something out of the ordinary. On Beedrill's chest, where his mark was once at, was now a brace that covered his entire chest and back, still leaving room for his wings. In the middle of the brace was a small sphere-like jewel which soon formed Beedrill's white claw marks.

Ash rubbed his eyes a couple of times before turning to Misty. "Uh...am I dreaming or is this really happening?"

Misty shook her head. "I don't know. I've never heard of a Pokémon being able to do that. But for sure, it has something to do with that Egg."

Pikachu approached Beedrill and the two began a conversation which the two kids had no idea of since they couldn't understand what they were talking about, yet. But soon enough, Pikachu made his way back to them, smiling at them as he turned to face Beedrill.

Ash nodded. "I see. So this Beedrill's just going to follow us because of the Egg."

"Huh?" Misty blinked. "When did you learn how to understand Pikachu?"

"I didn't," Ash replied, "I guessed it. But it looks like I was right. Look, Beedrill's nodding so that means it was a yes."

Misty sighed. "Oh well. As long as they don't bother me, I'm alright with them. Now can we finally get out of here? The other Beedrill might wake up any time now."

"Lead the way, Misty!"

* * *

 **Me: Oh Arceus! This took most of my time to complete! I'm just glad that school's over for the year! FREEDOM~! Anyway, how do you like this version of the anime? For me, I just didn't like how Ash keeps on letting opportunities slip by like when Butterfree put the Beedrill to sleep but he didn't bother to catch any of them. Tell me what you would like to see happen in this version of the story. Should Team Rocket stay evil or become good? Should Ash catch 'em all like he should? Will Brock ever get a girl? Oh wait, scratch out the last one. Brock would never get a girl for the anime's sake.**

 **So please leave a review behind for what you had expected for the anime that you want me to put in this story and of course, if you have enjoyed it and/or have any other questions. I'm always free for any PMs as well, at least for the next two months.**

 **Arcus: Next chapter, get ready for Pewter City, people! Because...uh...actually, I think Cross might just copy that episode into the chapter or he might change it now that Beedrill is on Ash's team. But still, be sure to read it when it's posted next time.**


	7. Chapter 5: Brock's debut

**Chapter 5: Brock's debut**

 **Me: Arcus, mind telling us what chapter this is?**

 **Arcus: Uh...it's Brock's debut chapter? You just wrote it like two lines ago. What do I have to...oh...I see what you did there. It's the chapter before I hatch. Well, that's one accomplishment this story will have.**

 **Me: *nods* Yep! And the poll's result for the first two** **Pokémon from Arcus's original team who will appear later is at the bottom of the chapter. So you guys can enjoy this chapter first and then see the results. But I would say that the results are expected. Anyway, on with the story! Disclaimer, please.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon but I do own Arcus and any other OCs in this story.**

* * *

 **Response to Guest review:**

 **THE CREATOR: Meh, I'll call it even for that. But at least that's off my back and of course, I'm sorry for this late chapter. Not a good excuse this might be but I got caught up with my Fairy Tail story...**

* * *

"To protect the world from devastation..."

"To unite all people within our nation..."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love..."

"To extend our reach to the stars above..."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"And I just had have enough of you two!" Meowth cried out in annoyance as he swung the shovel in his paws at his two human partners, whacking them as hard as he could. "Tell me again, why am I the only one doing this? I thought it was supposed to be a group effort!"

The two humans blinked before they grabbed their own shovels. "Oh right, sorry Meowth. Come on, James, move it!"

"Right!"

As the trio continued their digging, Jessie spoke. "Come on, boys. We don't have much time. If they're going to Pewter City, they have to cross this way."

James grinned. "And they'll fall right into our little trap."

The trio soon got out of the hole and they begun setting down their planned trap as Meowth snickered. "We'll cover it up so well that they will never know that it's a trap."

Once their trap was set, the trio made their way to their hiding spot, a nearby bush. However, they soon realized a major flaw in their plan as James yelped in shock at the sudden realization. "The trap! Where is it?!"

His partners gasped as they emerged from their hiding spot.

"Where did we put it again?"

"I'm pretty sure we dug it over here."

"No way! It was over here."

"I'm positive that it's...AHHH!" As soon as the trio stepped on the well hidden trap, the ground gave way and they fell into the hole. "This was a terrible plan, Jessie."

* * *

 **Meanwhile:**

Ash sneezed as he clenched his shivering body. "Oh man...the weather's pretty cold today."

Misty shrugged. "I don't feel anything. Are you alright, Ash?"

"I think someone was just talking about me. Probably my mom," Ash replied as he wiped his nose. Just then, he soon saw the end of the path and he smiled. "Look, Misty! There's the end of the path! Pewter City must be over there." Without another moment to lose, Ash scrambled towards the end of the path with Misty and Pikachu right behind him while Beedrill hovered just behind them, a clear distance away from Misty and Ash.

As soon as they reached the end of the path, Ash leapt onto the large rock in front of it, where he was able to get a full view of Pewter City. "We made it!"

Misty wiped away the sweat on her forehead and smiled to the boy. "Yep. That's Pewter City alright."

Ash let out a sigh of relief as he fell on his back from exhaustion. "And here I thought we would never get out of that forest or we'll be stuck in there forever. I'm just glad we found the way out.

"Pewter City is grey, the color of stone. This city has always been famous for its stone."

"Huh?" Ash turned his attention below him, where he saw a middle-aged man sitting cross-legged on the ground and beside the man was a stand with rocks on it and all of the rocks had price tags on them. "Who's this guy? Do you know him, Misty?"

"Never seen him before," Misty replied.

The man sighed. "The name's Flint. And you're sitting on some of my merchandise, young man."

Realizing that, Ash quickly got off the rock and made his way down to the ground where he approached Flint. "Sorry about that. But you really do sell rocks?"

Flint nodded. "They're Pewter City souvenirs. Wanna buy some?"

"No thanks," Ash replied. "I'm traveling, trying to become a Pokémon Master!"

Flint mentally chuckled at Ash and turned his attention towards Pikachu, who was completely exhausted. "It looks like your Pokémon's worn out. Why don't you follow me. I'll show you the way to the Pokémon Center. By the way, that will be a two dollar charge for resting on my rock."

Ash flinched. "Oh...even resting cost me? Guess I'll have to pay you. And here I thought you were a nice guy."

* * *

 **Minutes later:**

"Well, here we are," Flint said as they entered the Pokémon Center. "Why don't you head over to the counter to get your Pokémon healed up."

Ash nodded. "That's what I wanted to do in the first place. But thanks anyway, Flint!" The rock-selling man smiled as he headed off towards another direction while Ash made his way towards the counter where he picked up a tray and placed his Pokéballs and Pikachu on before placing them on the counter. "Excuse me, but could you please revitalize my Pokémon?"

"Certainly, Ash," replied the person behind the counter.

"Hey, aren't you Nurse Joy?" Ash questioned as he glanced at the nurse. "I thought you were in Viridian City."

Nurse Joy grinned. "That was my little sister, Ash. I've also heard a lot of nice things about you too, aside from your Pikachu blowing up the Viridian City's Pokémon Center, of course." Hearing that, Ash chuckled nervously as he scratched his chin. Nurse Joy giggled. "So, have you seen that poster over there?"

Turning to the direction that she was pointing at, Ash frowned when he was greeted by the back of Misty's head. "Misty, could you step aside?" The girl in question absentmindedly took a step to her left, allowing him to get a view of the poster Nurse Joy was talking about. "The Pokémon League Regional Championships, huh? That sounds fun."

Misty smirked. "Not so fast, Ash. To compete in the Regional Championships, you need to beat Gym Trainers from different towns and get their Badges as proof. Can you do that?"

"Of course I can!" Ash cried.

Just then, Flint appeared beside them, laughing. "Don't tell me you plan on challenging Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader."

Ash nodded. "Of course I am. As soon as my Pokémon are better, I'll have no problem. When I get them back from Nurse Joy, take me to Brock's Gym. I'll beat him."

Smiling, Flint spoke. "We'll have to see about that, Ash. I'll be waiting outside of the Pokémon Center. Come out once you're ready."

* * *

"Ugh! That Flint! Trying to make a fool out of me..." Ash grumbled as he scooped up a mouthful of his lunch and stuffing it into his mouth.

Misty sighed. "Do you really think you can win? Gym Leaders are different from normal Trainers because they're much more tougher. I'll tell you what, Ash. If you ask me really nicely, I'll help you out."

Ash lowered the bowl on his hand down and asked. "How?"

"My specialty is Water type Pokémon, Ash," Misty replied as she brought out her Goldeen's Pokéball. "Besides, your current Pokémon are all...well...weak to Rock type Pokémon. Pikachu's Electric attacks won't affect the Rock Pokémon in anyway. Pidgeotto's Flying type attacks is weaker and Butterfree and Beedrill's Bug type attacks are weak too. Basically, you are ill-equipped to battle Brock and his Rock type Pokémon."

"Wait, wait, wait," Ash stuttered. "Are you telling me that Brock's a Rock type Gym Leader?!"

Misty sweat dropped. "I thought you already knew. After all, this town is all about rocks."

"Still though," Ash continued. "Butterfree managed to beat Team Rocket all on its own when it was still a Caterpie."

"You're right about that," Misty nodded. "But that was because Bug type and Poison type are mutual. This time, you're up against Rock type Pokémon, which are twice as powerful as Bug type Pokémon. What you need is a Water type Pokémon to help give you an advantage."

As Ash finished his lunch, he placed the bowl back on the table and looked back at Misty. "But I still have no idea how Brock battles. I'm going to have to battle him first before I can decide."

Misty shrugged. "It's your battle strategy. I'll leave all that up to you. I'll be outside with Flint. Make sure you get Pikachu and the others before you come out." As she got up from her seat, Misty placed her Goldeen's Pokéball back in her bag while she made her way out of the cafeteria, only for Ash to realize that he was stuck with the bill.

"Hey! You can't leave me with the bill! Come back here!" Ash cried, but it was too late as Misty was already long gone. Ash sighed as he got up from is seat and made his way towards the lobby's counter, where he saw Beedrill hovering over Pikachu and his Pokéballs while Nurse Joy was typing on the computer.

Once Ash had reached the counter, Nurse Joy smiled. "There's no need to wait any longer, Ash. Your Pokémon are all well now."

"Alright! Thanks, Nurse Joy," Ash said as he picked up his three Pokéballs while Pikachu leapt onto his shoulder.

"Oh! And before you go anywhere else, Professor Oak wants to speak to you, Ash," Nurse Joy continued. "Just head over to one of the video phones and call him."

Ash nodded. "Thanks for telling me, Nurse Joy." After thanking her, Ash made his way over to the closest video phone while Beedrill followed behind. Ash stopped and turned to the Poison Bee Pokémon. "Beedrill, why don't you take a break? I'm sure you're tired from flying all this time." Beedrill shook his head and Ash sighed. "Alright. I guess I could let you take care of the Egg for me. That's what you wanted to do in the first place, right?"

Receiving a nod from the Poison Bee Pokémon, Ash pulled out the Jewel of Life and set it down beside him as he dialed in the professor's number. After a while, the screen soon displayed Professor Oak. "Hi, professor!"

 _"Ah! Ash! Just the boy I was waiting for!"_ Professor Oak spoke. _"So, how's your journey been so far?"_

Ash smiled. "I've just made it to Pewter City, Professor Oak! I'm going to be challenging the Pewter City Gym Leader soon too!"

Professor Oak nodded. _"Of course you are. But enough of that. Let's talk about the Egg. How has it been since our last chat?"_

"It's fine," Ash replied, putting the Jewel of Life close to the screen for the professor to see. "But professor, something weird happened with it too."

 _"How weird?"_

"The Egg glowed when it came close to this Beedrill..." Ash spoke, gesturing to Beedrill, who was hovering beside him with the Jewel of Life beneath him. "When it glowed, Beedrill glowed too and then it had this mark on its chest. Beedrill also said that it followed me just because of the Egg."

 _"Fascinating,"_ Professor Oak grinned. _"This has got to be an interesting event. Maybe we will know why Beedrill is following the Egg soon."_

"How?"

 _"Why the_ _PokéTranslator of course!"_ Professor Oak replied as he lifted up a small device which was smaller than his finger. _"This is still a prototype that I'm testing out, of course. But once I've perfected it, we will soon be able to understand what_ _Pokémon are saying. Think about it, Ash. With it, you might understand Beedrill's purpose of following the Egg you have!"_

"That does sound interesting, professor," Ash smiled. "So when will it be done?"

The professor grinned at the question. _"It won't be long, Ash. It will probably take a week or two. Possibly less if I don't get any distractions after we end our chat."_

"Then I'll let you finish up that translator, professor," Ash replied.

Professor Oak nodded as he waved to the boy. _"You take care now. Be sure to call me again so I can give it to you."_ With that, the professor cuts off, ending the call.

With that done, Ash let out a sigh as he smiled and turned to Beedrill, who was now holding onto the Jewel of Life with his stinger arms, somehow. Ash stretches out his hand and spoke to the Poison Bee Pokémon. "Alright, Beedrill. I think it's time that I keep the Egg save with me again. You might never know what kind of people will try and steal it when it's out in plain sight."

Beedrill hesitated. His purpose in life is to protect the son of the Alpha Pokémon and guide him when he grows. But he had no reason to argue with Ash at the moment. With Arceus's son still an Egg, Beedrill has the disadvantage if he were to protect him because he will be busy fighting off anyone or anything that threatens the life of Arceus's son and he also had to look out for anyone who'll try and steal the Jewel of Life while he was distracted.

The Poison Bee Pokémon had no choice. He gave Ash a nod and gently placed the Jewel of Life on the boy's hand. Ash smiled as he tucked the Jewel of Life into his vest's right pocket. "Don't worry, Beedrill. The Egg'll be safe." Beedrill narrowed his eyes at the boy, still uncertain of Ash's words, but he simply nodded again as he followed Ash out of the Pokémon Center.

As they did, Pikachu turned his head back to face Beedrill. "So why are you so protective of the Son of Arceus? What's your reason?"

"It's the same as all Pokémon, Pikachu," Beedrill replied. "I am here to help Arceus's Son grow stronger when he hatches. But my role is much more important because I am the one who will protect him and guide him in combat, for I am one of the Chosen Ones who will remain by his side till the end of time."

Pikachu rolled his eyes. "Jeez, you didn't have to be all dramatic about it. But I'm guessing that that mark of yours is the sign of the so called Chosen Ones."

Beedrill nodded. "That is correct, Pikachu. But it seems that you and Butterfree are the same. You two don't have the mark, nor does that Pidgeotto. But since you belong to this human, you are considered my comrade. Same goes for Butterfree and Pidgeotto."

"At least I know you don't mean us any harm," Pikachu replied, earning a nod from the Beedrill as they exited the Pokémon Center.

"So, are you ready for your Gym Battle with Brock?" Flint asked as he folded his arms while looking at the boy. "Let me warn you, Brock is no pushover just because he's the first Gym Leader that all new Trainers must battle."

Ash grinned and gave the man a thumbs up. "I'm sure I can handle Brock's Pokémon. After all, I got quite a few Pokémon to use against him. They might be weak against his Rock-type Pokémon, but I'm sure mine will be stronger!"

Flint laughed. "You honestly think your Pikachu stands a chance against a Rock-type Pokémon? Then I hope you survive. Now follow me, you two."

* * *

 **After some time later:**

"So this is the Pewter City Gym, huh?" Ash asked as he stared at the building in front of him, which was mostly made from rocks, with a few wooden structures to help support the rock Gym.

Flint shrugged. "What did you expect? Some fancy-schmancy, colorful Gym? The Pewter City Gym is a Rock-type Pokémon based Gym so it's an obvious choice for the Gym and because of this city's fame for rocks. Now get going. Your friend and I will be waiting outside."

Nodding, Ash and Pikachu made their way towards the Gym's doors. As he enters the Gym, the two blinked in surprise at the darkness that the Gym had. They cautiously walked into the Gym as the doors closed. "Hello? Is anyone here? I'm here to challenge the Gym!"

"Who goes there?" A mysterious male voice asked as Ash and Pikachu turned to the direction it came from, only to see light shine down to reveal a tan-skinned man who donned an orange polo shirt with a green vest. Brown jeans could be seen on him and a belt on his waist. The man was also sitting cross-legged.

"I'm Ash Ketchum. I come from Pallet Town and I'm here to challenge the Gym Leader, Brock!" Ash cried as he looked at the man.

The man smirked. "Is that so? Then you're looking at him."

Ash's eyes widened in surprise as he took a step back while the man, who's identity is now revealed to be Brock, stood up and snapped his fingers, causing the entire Gym to shake. Then, the floor split, revealing a battlefield that was lower than the floor and where rocks could be seen everywhere. Brock stood at the end of the battlefield, opposite of Ash and spoke. "How long have you been a Trainer?"

"I just began not long ago, about a week, I guess?" Ash said, remembering the days he had spent with Pikachu.

Brock's eyes moved to Pikachu, who was standing next to the boy, with an adorable look on his face. Brock frowned. "Your Pikachu is still in its cutest stage. It won't last long." Hearing that, Pikachu fell on his face and his eyes twitched as Brock continued. "You do know that this is not like any other battles you have had, right? Of course you don't since this is your first Gym match. This is an official Pokémon battle which means you have to follow special rules set by the Pokémon League authorization."

"Special rules?" Ash asked

"We will use two Pokémon each, understood?" Brock replied. "But even if you just started, I have to accept every challenge for I am a Gym Leader." Brock reached for his belt and pulled out one of his Pokéballs. "Shall we begin this battle?"

Ash nodded back and turned to Pikachu. "Alright, Pikachu, I choose you!" Pikachu flinched at Ash's words. The Electric Mouse Pokémon shivered in fear for he knew that he and his Trainer have been warned that Brock uses Rock-type Pokémon. But nevertheless, Pikachu stepped into the battlefield.

"Onix, go!" Brock cried as he tossed his Pokéball, releasing a white glow which soon grew to an enormous height before fading away to reveal a giant worm-like Pokémon who's body was mainly made out of rocks, which glared down at Pikachu and released a roar that scared the Electric Mouse Pokémon.

"So that's an Onix, huh?" Ash muttered to himself as he pulled out his Pokédex.

"Onix, the Rock Snake Pokémon. By twisting its large and powerful body, Onix can quickly bore through the ground at fifty miles per hour."

Pikachu took off back towards Ash but the boy stopped him. "What are you doing, Pikachu? You can't run away from the battle now. I already chose you." The Electric Mouse Pokémon was about to tear up when he was pushed back towards the giant Pokémon in front of him as Onix prepared itself for an attack.

"Tackle attack, Onix!" Brock cried.

Onix growled as it raised its head up and dove straight down at Pikachu, who was fortunate enough to dodge the attack while a small crater formed from the impact of the attack. Once Pikachu dodged the attack, he turned and ran towards one of the rocks. However, his path was soon blocked when Onix's tail appeared in front of him. Before he knew it, Onix's tail had surrounded Pikachu and he had no where to go.

"Onix, use Bind!" The Rock Snake Pokémon complied to Brock's command and its tail closed in on Pikachu, squeezing him before tightening its grip on Pikachu, causing the Electric-type Pokémon to squeal in pain.

Ash gritted his teeth. "Pikachu, use Thunder Shock!" Pikachu complied, releasing a burst of electricity at Onix, which had no effect on the Rock Snake Pokémon. Then, Ash came to a realization that he had forgotten what Misty had said back at the Pokémon Center. Electric-type attacks won't work on Rock-type Pokémon. "How could I have forgotten that?!"

Pikachu squealed in pain once more as Onix's grip tightened. Ash panicked as his hands search all over his body before he pulled out a Pokéball and points it at his Pokémon. "Pikachu, return!" As the red light was released from the capsule, it faded away the moment it collided with Onix's body. Ash rubbed his eyes and looked at the Pokéball, only to find out that it wasn't Pikachu's Pokéball. "Where did I put it?!"

Brock raised an eyebrow as he watched Ash with an unamused look. "Having some trouble already? You know, as a fourth Pallet Town Trainer to challenge me, I thought you would be a much better Trainer than this. The other three had no problem beating me. I guess you're not as skilled as I thought Pallet Town Trainers are."

"Shut up!" Ash cried as he continued his search for Pikachu's Pokéball.

"Enough. I'm not going to entertain a weak Trainer like you," Brock replied. "Onix, toss it up into the air and use Tackle attack again!" The Rock Snake Pokémon did as it was told, tossing Pikachu into the air and launching itself towards the Electric Mouse Pokémon. Before Ash could say anything to Pikachu, the Electric Mouse Pokémon met the full force of Onix's attack, causing him to be sent crashing in front of Ash.

Ash's eyes went wide as he dropped to his knees with his hands reaching out to Pikachu's bruised body. "Pikachu...I'm sorry for making you fight...If only I hadn't forgotten about Misty's warning..."

"What are you waiting for?" Brock demanded. "Send out your next Pokémon."

Ash gritted his teeth again. All his Pokémon that he have at the moment are all weak to Rock-type. How was he going to win when he has nothing to help him? There was only two choice he was able to choose. Continue or surrender. And he made his choice. "I surrender..."

Brock sighed. "Of course you would. I told you, you're not ready. This battle is now over."

As Brock turned and left, Ash picked up his partner and held him close to his chest as he made his way towards the exit. When Ash and Pikachu had gotten out of the Gym, Misty approached them with a smile. "So, how did it go?" Ash didn't reply and looked away, holding Pikachu tighter, which Misty soon understand why as her smile fades away. "You lost, didn't you?"

"You were right, Misty," Ash mumbled. "I was ill-equipped. I wasn't ready to battle Brock."

"What about the strategy you were talking about?" Misty asked. "Didn't you say that you wanted to find a strategy to beat Brock? What happened to your confidence?"

Ash began tearing up. "How could I do anything when Pikachu was getting hurt?! That Onix of his was too strong!"

Flint approached the two and folded his arms as the two looked at him. Flint sighed. "Follow me."

* * *

The rock-selling man had brought the two over to the edge of Pewter City, where they rested in Flint's home. Pikachu was placed in a small bed provided by Flint while he served tea to Ash and Misty and Beedrill staying close to Pikachu.

"Everyone loses some times. You can't let that get you down," Flint spoke.

Ash gritted his teeth. "I know. But I didn't just lose, I stunk. Brock's a way better than me. I can never enter a League match if I can't beat him."

With a sip of his tea, Flint replied. "Brock is very good. His own talents can take him much further than simply being a local Gym Leader."

"But why hasn't he been in the regional championship himself?" Ash asked, looking up at Flint, who lowered his cup down.

"He has his reasons," Flint answered. "Come. I'll show you myself. Your friend here can take care of your Pokémon for you."

Ash turned back to Misty, who gave him a smile and a nod as she replied. "Don't worry about Pikachu. I'll take care of it so you can go." Ash smiled back and thanked her as he followed Flint out of the house and made their way into the city once more.

Minutes later, the duo had arrived at a house and they peeked over the fence of the house, only for Ash to gasp in surprise at what he saw. In the house were several children who were seated all over the place but one thing that stuck out the most was that they all had identical faces that resembles Brock's. Speaking of the Gym Leader, Ash soon spotted him just behind the children, wearing what seemed to be an apron while he washed the dishes.

Just then, one of the children ran up to Brock, clinging onto his leg. "Brock! I tore my skirt!"

Brock turned to the girl and smiled. "Alright, alright. I'll sew it up for you."

Ash turned to Flint with a surprised look and the boy was given the explanation he was waiting for. "Brock has ten little brothers and sisters to take care of. So he could never leave town for the regional championships."

"Doesn't he have a mom or a dad?" Ash asked.

Flint scoffed. "His good for nothing father left his family to become a Pokémon Master and they never heard from him again. Brock's heartbroken mother tried her best to hold things together but sadly, she moved on. Brock's the only his siblings have left."

"I had no idea Brock was like that," Ash sighed. "I'd better not listen to anymore sad stuff. Next time I have a match with Brock, I might not have the heart to beat him..."

Hearing that, Flint stopped in his tracks. "But...you said that you could never win a match with Brock if your Pokémon was hurt."

"But that is what a Pokémon match is all about, right?" Ash retorted. "Even if I disagree that Pokémon must be hurt, it's the only way to get a Badge. If I somehow beat Brock's Pokémon with my Pokémon, I might be able to win. But I still have to figure out a strategy."

"Then you might be up all night, won't you?" Flint grinned. "Would you want some advice?"

"Yes please!" Ash exclaimed.

Flint nodded. "Alright then. When we head back to my place, show me your Pokémon and I'll try to find a strategy for you."

* * *

 **The next day:**

"I'm back!" Ash cried as entered the Gym once more, swinging the doors open.

Seeing this, Brock approached the boy and his Pikachu. "Haven't you learn your lesson yet?"

A grin formed on the 10-year-old boy as he approached Brock. "I'm here for a rematch, Brock. My Pokémon and I are ready. We've come up with a strategy to beat you and I'm sure that it'll work."

Brock scoffed. "Whatever. Let's get this over with." With a snap of his fingers, the Gym's floor began splitting, revealing the same battlefield from the previous day. Taking out a Pokéball, Brock narrowed his eyes onto Ash. "Remember, two Pokémon." Ash nodded back and Brock tossed his Pokéball, releasing the Pokémon inside of it. "Geodude, go!"

The Pokémon released from the capsule emerged from the white glow, falling heavily onto the ground with a thud. It didn't had much to describe itself. The Pokémon itself resembled a boulder with a pair of arms, eyes and a mouth. Ash immediately pulled out his Pokédex.

"Geodude, the Rock Pokémon. Geodude has incredibly high defensive power, making it virtually resistant to any physical attacks."

Ash smirked. "Luckily for me, Geodude won't affect my strategy." He reached for his waist and pulled out one of his Pokéballs before throwing it up into the air. "Butterfree, I choose you!" As the Butterfly Pokémon emerged from his Pokéball, it hovered closely to the edge of the battlefield while his capsule returned to Ash's hand.

"Geodude, use Tackle!" Geodude complied to its Trainer, crossing its arms as it charged forward at Butterfree. As it neared the Butterfly Pokémon, Geodude balled its hands into fists, outstretching them as it came closer to Butterfree.

Butterfree, who had memorized the strategy, dodged the attack by flying upwards. "Whirlwind!" Ash cried as Butterfree began flapping his wings, generating a strong gust of wind which knocked Geodude back down to the ground as it crashed against one of the rocks. Ash grinned. "Alright, Butterfree! Good work! Now use String Shot!"

This time, a white string was shot from the Butterfly Pokémon's mouth, tying up the Rock Pokémon.

"Huh?" Brock blinked in surprise. "Geodude, break free and use Dig!" The Rock Pokémon struggled within the cocoon-like trap it was in and ripped a hole through it where its hand reached out and tore the rest of the string.

"Butterfree, use Tackle before Geodude can get out!" Ash cried as the Butterfly Pokémon folded his wings against his back and dove straight down at Geodude. However, the Rock Pokémon was able to escape just in time as it dug into the ground, just in time to evade Butterfree's attack. Upon seeing this, Butterfree halted his attack and struggled to maintain his balance in the air.

Brock grinned. "Geodude, jump out and use Tackle!" Geodude did as it was told, leaping out of the ground behind Butterfree and lunging forward with its right fist out.

"Dodge it and use your own Tackle!" Ash called out. Butterfree gave his Trainer a nod as he flew higher, causing Geodude to charge past him. The Butterfly Pokémon smirked as he spun around, diving headfirst at Geodude's back. Butterfree's head collided with Geodude's back, causing the Rock Pokémon to crash into the ground, taking the dirt into its mouth and ending the first battle with Butterfree as the winner.

"What?" Brock stood there with his mouth agape. "I...I underestimated him...I was caught off guard by the type advantage I had that I forgotten that skill makes up for it. He's full of surprises." He muttered as he returned Geodude to its Pokéball and pulled out his second one.

Ash smiled proudly as Butterfree flew towards him. "You did it pal! I knew you could do it!" Butterfree squealed in delight as Ash hugged him. "Looks like Flint's idea worked!"

* * *

 **Flashback:**

 _Flint rubbed his chin as he took a look at each of Ash's_ _Pokémon. Once he was done, he turned to Ash. "I guess your friend was right when she told me that all of your Pokémon are at a disadvantage to Rock-type Pokémon. All you have are Bug-types, Flying-type and Electric-type, the three types out of a few others more that can be beaten by Rock-types."_

 _"What's your point?" Ash asked, annoyed by the way Flint had described his Pokémon._

 _"My point is," Flint replied. "You'll have to rely on your_ _Pokémon's skill to win your battle against Brock."_

 _Ash raised one of his brow in confusion. "My Pokémon's skill? How would that help me win?"_

 _Flint smiled. "Even Pokémon can win most of the time when they battle against another Pokémon with a type advantage. How do they win? The answer is skill. And I've just the strategy for you to win against Brock's Pokémon."_

 _"Really?!" Ash exclaimed, eyes twinkling with hope and excitement._

 _The rock-selling man nodded. "First of all, Brock uses these two Pokémon for all his Gym Battles; Onix and Geodude. Of course, both Pokémon are Rock-types. I'll begin by telling you the strategy you need against Geodude."_

 _"So what do I do when my Pokémon battle against it?" Ash asked._

 _"Your Beedrill is out of the question because its stingers might be damaged from Geodude's rock-hard body. Pikachu is definitely out because his Electric attacks won't work at all, unless he has Normal-type attacks like Quick Attack. So the only two Pokémon you can use against Geodude are Butterfree and Pidgeotto. For Pidgeotto, I would say that you can focus on using Gust and Quick Attack..."_

 _"Why Gust?" Misty interrupted._

 _Flint turned to her and gave the answer. "With Pidgeotto in the air, Geodude will have to jump to attack. If Pidgeotto uses Gust, it might be able to knock Geodude back to the ground and it's Quick Attack might give it an advantage because of its speedy strikes. If I were Ash, I would have Pidgeotto try and get Geodude in the air as long as possible so that it could deal multiple hits on the Rock Pokémon."_

 _"What about Butterfree?" Ash asked._

 _"Butterfree is much simpler," Flint replied. "If it has String Shot, it could slow down Geodude by trapping it. This will give Butterfree enough time to deal some damages on Geodude while it tries to free itself. Not only that, Butterfree could use Sleep Powder and cause Geodude to fall asleep while you knock it out. Just like Pidgeotto, you could use Butterfree to get Geodude in the air and its Tackle attack might work. But if you ask me, Butterfree's a better choice to use."_

 _A sigh soon escaped Flint as he continued. "Now...let's discuss about the strategy against Onix..."_

* * *

"Onix, go!" Brock cried as he tossed his second Pokéball, releasing Onix from it.

Ash grinned as Butterfree entered the battlefield once more.

The two Pokémon looked at each other, both not showing any signs of giving up, which pleased the two Trainers as Onix roared while Brock gave it a command. "Onix, use Rock Throw!" The Rock Snake Pokémon raised its tail and slammed it onto the ground, causing the ground to break apart as chunks of rocks were hurled towards Butterfree.

"Butterfree, dodge those rocks and use Sleep Powder!" Ash cried as the Butterfly Pokémon maneuvered himself over the rocks as he flaps his wings above the Rock Snake Pokémon, sprinkling blue, shining powder onto it as he flapped his wings.

"Onix, use Dig to escape!" Onix complied to Brock's command and dug into the ground, evading the Sleep Powder as Ash began remembering what Flint had told him.

* * *

 **Flashback:**

 _"So how do I beat Onix?" Ash asked._

 _Flint sighed again as he folded his arms. "Well, Onix will be a tough opponent. Brock and Onix are practically inseparable since he was given Onix as a first_ _Pokémon. He trained Onix to a great degree that Onix is his strongest Pokémon."_

 _"How do you know so much about Brock?" Misty asked, causing Flint to flinch in surprise as sweat poured from the man's face while he scratched the back of his neck nervously._

 _"Uh...well...I...uh..." Flint stammered. "I just happened to have talked to his father before, that's why. Anyway, back to business. To beat Onix, it would take probably a few of your_ _Pokémon to defeat. Your Butterfree and Pidgeotto might be the two you may need. If I remember correctly, Onix knows how to use Dig. So Sleep Powder would be out of the question. Your Pokémon still have the advantage of being in the air though."_

 _"So what kind of attacks do I need to use against Onix?" Ash asked._

 _Flint replied. "Pikachu's still out of the question. But I would say Gust and Whirlwind would be useful to blind Onix for a few seconds. However, Onix is Brock's first_ _Pokémon so it might be more tougher to deal with. I advice poisoning it first to weaken it. Beedrill's Twineedle attack might do the trick. You just have to be careful on where it aims. Onix's body is rock-hard just like Geodude. I'd suggest going for the head using it. Butterfree's String Shot might work too since Onix will take a longer time to get rid of the string."_

 _"But how do I beat Onix after that?"_

 _"After a while, the poison from the Twineedle attack will weaken Onix," Flint replied. "It will be weak to most attacks so I would say tire Onix out first before going in for any other attacks to prevent your own_ _Pokémon from getting tired_ _."_

* * *

Just then, Onix burst out from the ground, landing perfectly on its body before roaring.

Ash grinned. "Butterfree, String Shot!" Once more, Butterfree shot out a white string from his mouth, blinding Onix as the string covered both of its eyes. "Alright, Butterfree, return!" As the Butterfly Pokémon was reabsorbed into the Pokéball, Ash pulled out another and tossed it into the air. "Beedrill, it's your turn!"

This time, Ash's Beedrill emerged from the capsule with its stingers raised, ready to battle. "Beedrill, use Twineedle!" The Poison Bee Pokémon lunged forward, continuously thrusting its two front stingers at Onix, who roared in pain as the stingers struck its face while its tail fell to the ground before it could remove Butterfree's string from its face.

"This is a strategy that I've never seen before!" Brock muttered to himself as he clenched his fists.

At the top of the Gym, where a balcony was placed, Misty and Beedrill watched the battle with smiles of satisfaction. However, Misty had left quite a big gap between her and Beedrill. "H-hey...Beedrill, looks like Ash is doing well with your friend." Beedrill only nodded, not bothering to look up at Misty. The girl only sighed as a thought ran through her mind. _"I really do hate Bug-types..."_

Meanwhile, back in the battle, Onix had crashed its face against the ground and rubbed its face on it. Once it raised its head up, Ash gritted his teeth. "The strings are gone. Onix removed them!"

"Onix, Rock Throw!" Again, the Rock Snake Pokémon slammed its tail onto the ground, hurling more chunks of rocks at Ash's Beedrill. However, Ash's Beedrill was quite agile as it dodged the rocks with ease as it flew towards another direction while Onix pursued it, hurling more rocks at it.

"You're Onix won't be able to stop my Beedrill now!" Ash cried out with a smirk.

Brock gritted his teeth. "What's his game? Why's he doing all this?"

Onix soon stopped, feeling a stinging pain all over its body. Ash chuckled. "Now, Beedrill, keep going with Twineedle and we'll win this match!" Beedrill complied to Ash's command and thrust its front stingers at Onix, causing the Rock Snake Pokémon to roar out in pain once more as Beedrill attacked it relentlessly. After a while, Onix collapsed, crashing onto the ground and fainting, ending the battle once and for all.

Seeing his partner collapse, Brock fell to his knees, shocked by the lost he had faced. "I can't believe it, I lost to you." Brock looked up at Ash, who was now celebrating his victory by embracing his Beedrill as Butterfree was brought out from his Pokéball as well and the three began cheering while Misty congratulated the boy as she made her way down from the balcony with Beedrill.

Brock sighed as he got back up and reached for his pocket, pulling out one of the Gym's Badge. "Hey, Ash!" Brock called out, earning the boy's attention as he approached him. Brock smiled as he placed the Gym Badge on Ash's hand. "Looks like you won it, Ash. You deserve it."

Ash smiled and nodded as he accepted the Badge and placed it on his vest. "Alright! I won my first Gym Badge!" As he did a victory pose, Pikachu, Beedrill and Butterfree all followed and did their own victory poses around him.

* * *

"Well, congratulation, Ash," Misty said as the two humans, Pikachu and Beedrill made their way to the outskirts of Pewter City as the sun sets. "Too bad you didn't actually use your own strategy to beat Brock. You used Flint's."

Ash rolled his eyes. "Hey, I still won. But I guess you're right. I couldn't have done it without Flint's help. I wonder what he's doing now? We never saw him after we left the Pewter City Gym."

"Hey, Ash! Wait up!" The group turned around, only to see Brock catching up to them. But there was a surprise for them. He was carrying a backpack!

"Brock! What are you doing here? And what's with the backpack?" Ash asked.

The Gym Leader grinned as he took a few deep breaths. "Isn't it obvious? I'm joining you on your journey!"

"Wait what?" Ash blinked and Misty placed a finger in her ear, digging out some earwax to make sure that she had heard it right as Ash asked. "But why? Aren't you the Pewter City Gym Leader?"

Brock shook his head. "Not anymore. My dad's the new Gym Leader now."

"Your dad?" Misty repeated.

"But didn't your dad left home?" Ash asked.

A smile appeared on Brock's face. "I'll tell you all about it on the way. Come on, let's go!" As he ran past them, the two looked at each other, confused at Brock's actions but shrugged them off as they chased after him while a recent memory came into Brock's mind.

* * *

 **Flashback:**

 _Brock sighed as he watch the doors of the Gym close once Ash and his friend had left. He walked over to Onix and rested his hand on it. "Take a good rest, Onix. You deserve it." The Rock Snake_ _Pokémon growled weakly as it was reabsorbed into its Pokéball._

 _"Looks like my strategy worked for him."_

 _The Gym Leader turned around and gasped when he saw Flint standing at the end of the Gym. "It's you. You're the guy who sells rocks to people that visit Pewter City."_

 _Flint nodded and approached Brock. "There's something I need to tell you Brock..." Flint reached for his beanie and beard before he removed them, only to reveal that he has almost the exact same face and hair as Brock._

 _"D-Dad?!" Brock exclaimed._

 _Flint nodded shamefully. "I know what you're going to ask. Why did I not come home? Well, I couldn't become a Pokémon Master like I wanted to and because I was such a failure, I was too embarrassed and ashamed to go back home."_

 _"You said that your strategy worked. Did you mean that you helped Ash?"_

 _Again, Flint nodded. "Yes. I see myself when I was younger in him. He didn't stand a chance against you so I helped him. But enough of that. It's time that I start taking care of my family again, Brock. You go follow your own dream. You wanted to become a Pokémon Breeder, right? Then go fulfill your dream."_

 _"Before that, there're some things I want to say," Brock replied._

 _Flint sighed. "After all these years, I understand how you must feel about me so I want you to get everything of your chest...uh..." Before he could finish his sentence, Brock had handed him a sewing needle and thread and he sweat dropped._

 _"Suzie always rips her dress so you better learn how to sew," Brock started. "And Timmy only eats cold spaghetti for breakfast. Tommy likes cornflakes for dinner..."_

 _"Slow down! Slow down!" Flint cried as he tried to write down everything Brock had said. "I can't write that fast!"_

* * *

 **Me: And~ We're done! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and sorry for the delay!**

 **Arcus: You know that a simple sorry won't help, right? They'll be here to murder you before you can wake up tomorrow.**

 **Me: Wait, wasn't there a poll result that you're supposed to announce?**

 **Arcus: Oh yeah. *Clears throat* And the two** **Pokémon to be back is...what do you know, it's Angel and Torch! Looks like we'll be getting the Hoenn duo back first! Followed by Lily, Kippy, Ace and Shelly. Wait a second...the poll result's the same as the order we gave them!**

 **Me: I expected it anyway. Well, till next time, readers! Next chapter shall be the miracle of life, the birth of Arcus!**


	8. Chapter 6: A new life

**Chapter 6: A new life**

 **Me: And~ we're back! Get going to the disclaimer!**

 **Arcus: Just shut it and I'll get on with the disclaimer. But first, say you're sorry to the readers for making them wait again.**

 **Me: Fine...sorry for the late chapter guys.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own Pokémon but I do own Arcus and any other OCs in this story.**

* * *

 **Response to Guest reviews:**

 **GirlFish: Don't worry. I'll be doing the whole series, all the way to Kalos and the future regions, unless they end it there. And of course, Brock will be taken away from the girls, it's what happens all the time! Ash will have an encounter with Arceus after he gets the Badge from Viridian City and heads back to Pallet Town. And almost all the** **Pokémon in the world knows about Arceus unless they've been brainwashed or they have completely forgotten about him since** **Pokémon know about him through their parents.** **And people in the Sinnoh region are the ones who only know of Arceus, at least for now. Also, I tried to reply to your review but it seems that you've disabled your PM.**

 **Guest: Pretty much. But compared to the original, this one is an improved version where Arcus isn't as overpowered as before, at least that's what I hope.**

 **Guest: Sorry for my ignorance, but what's Undertale?**

* * *

After having a good night's rest, Ash, Misty, Brock and the two Pokémon made their way to Cerulean City to earn Ash's next Badge. At least...that was what they had initially planned until an unexpected event occurred.

"Are you kidding me?" Ash cried as he stared at the path ahead of him, which was completely blocked by rocks of different sizes.

"Must have been from that landslide we heard last night," Brock replied as he brought out his map. "But at least there's another route we can take, Ash. It's a shortcut that runs through the caves of Mt. Moon. And look, it's close by! Come on!"

Turning to where Brock was pointing at, Ash and Misty smiled as they gazed at a bluish-green mountain, almost a few minutes away from where they were. Seeing it, the two began following Brock while Beedrill flew close behind.

Misty sighed. "Mt. Moon, doesn't the name sound romantic?"

"People say that a huge meteor crashed into the mountain back in prehistoric times," Brock replied.

Ash smiled. "That's sounds amazing."

"Is it really true though?" Misty asked, facing the Pokémon Breeder.

Brock nodded. "The meteor is call the Moon Stone."

A smile formed on the girl's face. "Now that's romantic!"

However, their conversation was soon interrupted when they heard a loud scream coming from the mountain. "Was that a scream?" Ash asked as they quicken their pace to get to Mt. Moon.

"It sure was, Ash," Brock replied.

Soon, they finally made it to the foot of the mountain, only to find out that a man in a lab coat, huddled up and scared, was being harassed by a small group of Zubat.

"That man must have been the one who screamed," Ash said as he turned to his partner. "Pikachu, use your Thunder Shock!" The Electric Mouse Pokémon nodded as he leapt onto the top of Ash's cap, electrifying his cheeks at the same time before he released the built up energy of a Thunder Shock attack onto the Zubat, accidentally including the man as well.

Once the attack ended, the Zubat screeched as they turned to flee. However, both Ash and Brock brought out their empty Pokéballs and tossed them at two of the Zubat, which absorbed the two Bat Pokémon as the two capsules landed on the ground, twitching a few times before completely stopping, successfully capturing the two Zubat.

"Alright!" Ash cheered as he ran over to picked up his Pokéball containing the captured Bat Pokémon. "We caught a Zubat!" At the same time, Pikachu did his victory pose before he climbed onto his partner's shoulder. After Brock had retrieved his own Zubat, they made their way over to the man, who was still huddled up. Ash stepped forward and placed a hand onto the man's shoulder. "Are you alright, sir?"

"A-Are they gone yet?" The man asked.

Ash nodded. "Yep. My Pikachu chased them all away so there's no need to worry about the Zubat anymore."

The man heaved a sigh as he stood back up and dusted himself. "And to think that there was that many Zubat inside of there...I just hope that there aren't anymore of them inside there." Then, he adjusted his glasses and shook Ash's hand. "Anyway, thanks for saving me from those Zubat, kid. I don't know how much longer I could have take if you hadn't came."

"Well, we just happened to be coming here to get to the next town," Ash replied, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"They say that man's best friend is a Pokémon and with you two, I believe it," the man smiled. "My name is Seymour, by the way. I'm a scientist."

Brock then stepped forward. "So why were the Zubat attacking you?"

Seymour sighed sadly. "It's best if you follow me inside so you can see it for yourselves."

* * *

As soon as they entered Mt. Moon, Ash and his friends quickly understood why Seymour had looked saddened. Instead of being dark, like how a cave should be, the cave was lit up by light bulbs and it stretched across the entire cave.

"See, the cave is all lit up inside. Somebody has strung these lights through the whole cave. But the Pokémon in this cave need the dark. These lights are upsetting them and making them confused," Seymour explained.

"Which is probably why the Zubat left the cave and attacked you," Brock concluded, receiving a nod from the scientist.

Soon, they came across more Pokémon as they went deeper into the cave.

"Look here," Seymour said, gesturing to the Pokémon. "These Paras are planting their mushrooms everywhere and the hot lights are drying out the Sandshrew. That's why I'm here. I'm patrolling to protect the mountain from troublemakers that attack against these caves."

Misty was puzzled. "Troublemakers? Why would troublemakers attack this cave?"

Seymour stopped in his tracks and turned to Ash and his friends as he replied,"I'm afraid it's because of the Moon Stone. The Moon Stone is an amazing boulder that's a million years old and it might even be older. It's somewhere deep within these caves but no explorer has ever found the legendary rock from space. Me and the other scientists have studied its fragments for nearly an hour and discovered it increases a Pokémon's power. And That's why the attackers are here. I fear that they've come to take the Moon Stone!"

Then, the scientist smiled. "Ever since I was a little boy, I believed that the Pokémon came from Outer Space."

"From Outer Space?!"

Seymour nodded. "Yes. And where is the spacecraft that brought them to earth, you ask? It's in this cave. It's the Moon Stone."

Misty sweat dropped. "It sure is an original theory..."

"But don't you see?" Seymour asked. "It means that the Moon Stone belongs to the Pokémon! We humans must not take it from them!" As he turned around, he and the others soon saw a Pokémon hopping away, carrying a small silver rock in its hands.

"Is that a...Clefairy?" Brock asked.

Misty smiled as she blushed slightly. "Aw~It's so cute!"

Ash pulled out his Pokédex and it displayed an image of the Pokémon. "Clefairy. This impish Pokémon is friendly and peaceful. It is believed to live inside Mt. Moon, although very few have ever been seen by humans."

"Now that's worth catching, isn't it?" Ash said as he pulled out a Pokéball, only to be stopped by Seymour. As the Clefairy hopped away, Ash turned to the scientist. "What was that all about? I was going to catch it!"

Seymour shook his head. "I'm sorry, Ash. But it's best if you don't catch it. I hope you understand."

"How could I possibly understand?!" Ash cried. "Why won't you let me catch it? If you'd just give me a reason, maybe I would understand then. But you didn't! And you just made me miss an opportunity to catch it! Great, how am I going to find it again?"

Before Seymour could reply, the Clefairy screamed. The group, turning their attention towards the direction of the Clefairy, immediately ran towards it.

They soon turned a corner, only to realize that Clefairy was being cornered by Team Rocket's Meowth.

"What are you doing here?!" Meowth cried.

"Looking for troublemakers like you!" Ash replied as Pikachu went over to Clefairy to comfort it. "So Team Rocket's causing all the trouble around here. What a surprise."

Brock frowned. "So that's the Team Rocket Meowth you've told me about last night. And I'm guessing that since Meowth's here, the other two must be as well. We've got to stop them before they start anymore trouble!"

At that moment, Meowth's teammates appeared on a ledge above him.

"Trouble?" Jessie smirked.

"Make that double!" James continued.

"To protect the world from devastation..."

"To unite all people within our nation..."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love..."

"To extend our reach to the stars above..."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!"

Seymour scoffed. "They sure are showoffs..."

Ash simply placed a hand on his forehead. "Don't you guys get tired of saying the same things over and over?"

Jessie snickered at the boy as she rested a shovel on her shoulders. "You're just jealous, boy..."

"That we won't let you join us," finished James.

Hearing this, Ash gritted his teeth. "I would never join crooks like you! And I'm sure that it was you three who put the lights up in these caves. It's your fault that the Pokémon here are so confused!"

"How could we ever forgive ourselves?" James asked sarcastically.

"Why are you three even here anyway?" Misty asked.

Meowth stepped forward and pointed to the Clefairy. "We want to get our hands on the Moon Stone so we can power up our Pokémon with it. With it in our hands, nothing can stop us!"

Brock frowned at them. "We won't let you get away with it! If you want a rock so badly, there's plenty of it all around you! So just pick one and get lost!"

Jessie's eye twitched at Brock's words and she glared at him. "Get lost?! You're a rude one, twerp! And you..." She soon pointed towards Ash and continued. "I know that Pokémon Egg of yours is still with you. So hand it over or you won't get hurt!"

"Not gonna happen!" Ash yelled.

"Egg?" Both Brock and Seymour repeated, confused at this new discovery.

Beedrill growled as he hovered in front of the humans and glared at Team Rocket. "You're not laying hand on the Egg, Meowth. Not you and certainly not your humans! You must feel pretty proud of yourself, huh? How dare you try to take Arceus's pride and joy!"

"Arceus?" Meowth tilted his head in confusion. "I ain't got a single clue about what that is. And of course I'm proud of myself, Beedrill! This is the best job a Meowth could ever dream of!"

"Then you're my enemy..." Beedrill replied as he raised his stingers up.

At the same time, James and Jessie took their Pokéballs out and so did Ash and Brock. Ash turned to Misty and whispered to her. "Keep an eye on Seymour and Clefairy. Make a run for it when you get the chance."

"Koffing!"

"Ekans!"

As Team Rocket's Pokémon emerged from their Pokéballs, Ash turned his cap backwards and winded his arm back before he tossed it. "Butterfree, I choose you! And Beedrill! You want to defend the Egg, then we'll need your help as well!" As Butterfree emerged beside the Poison Bee Pokémon, Beedrill turned to Ash and grunted, acknowledging the boy's words for once.

"It's time to see how my Zubat does in battle. Here we go!" Brock said as he released his Zubat from its Pokéball, letting it join Butterfree and Beedrill.

"Koffing, Smog attack!"

Complying to its Trainer, thick dark green smoke began to pour out fro the holes on its body, almost engulfing the entire area.

"Not this again..." Ash muttered. "We've gotta get rid of this smog first! Butterfree, use Whirlwind!"

"You too, Zubat! Use Whirlwind!" Brock said.

As the two Pokémon began flapping their wings, the smog was pushed back, engulfing the Team Rocket members while Misty pushed Seymour out of the cave to get out of the fight while Clefairy hopped ahead. At the same time, Meowth sneaked pass the Trainers and grinned as he dashed off to catch up with Misty, Seymour and the Clefairy.

"Ekans! Use Bite!" Jessie commanded as her Snake Pokémon slithered towards Butterfree and pounced on the Butterfly Pokémon, biting down onto his body.

"Tackle attack, Koffing!" James said as his Koffing lunged at Brock's Zubat, tackling the Bat Pokémon.

Seeing this, Beedrill thrust his stingers at Team Rocket's Pokémon, knocking them back as he continued his Fury Attack on them. Ekans then counterattacked, slithering all around Beedrill as it wrapped the Poison Bee Pokémon and squeezed while Koffing spewed dark brown sludge at him. Beedrill hissed in pain as he struggled to break free from Ekans's Wrap.

Then, Butterfree lunged forward, tackling Koffing while Zubat executed another Whirlwind at Ekans. The Snake Pokémon lifted off the ground and it's jaw dropped in shock while Beedrill stabbed its back stinger into the ground. As Ekans was sent crashing into Koffing, Brock smirked. "Zubat, use Supersonic!" Zubat hovered over Beedrill and faced Team Rocket's Pokémon as it released waves of yellow energy which went through Ekans and Koffing.

Before anyone knew it, they were fighting against each other from their sudden confusion.

"One more time, Butterfree! Use Whirlwind!" Ash cried as Butterfree created another whirlwind that sent Ekans and Koffing crashing into their Trainers as they were all flung deeper into the caves.

"You may have one this one but we'll be back!" Jessie cried.

Once they were gone, Ash and Brock cheered. "We did it!"

"But wait," Ash said. "Aren't we forgetting someone? Ah! We forgot about Meowth!"

"He must still be here somewhere," Brock replied. "You don't think that..."

"MISTY'S IN TROUBLE!" The two boys cried in unison as they recalled their Pokémon, while Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder. When that was done, they took off towards the direction of the cave's exit.

* * *

After making their way out of the cave, Ash, Brock, Pikachu and Beedrill soon met up with Misty, Seymour and Clefairy at a river close to the cave, only to find out that Misty had beaten Meowth with one of her Pokémon, Staryu.

Then, the sun began to set and the group decided to rest for the night.

"What's that?" Ash asked as he spotted Brock taking out a sphere-like food and handed it to his Zubat, who was enjoying it.

"This is Pokémon food," Brock replied. "Made from my own secret recipe. The ingredients are specially blended for each Pokémon."

Ash grabbed a container that Brock handed to him and he opened it up, taking out one of the Pokémon food and handing it to Butterfree, who he had called out minutes ago. Butterfree gladly accepted the Pokémon food and chewed on it, enjoying it as well.

"I've been developing it for years," Brock continued. "I keep improving on the recipe. I also have some for Pikachu and Beedrill." As he rummaged through his backpack, Brock pulled out two containers and opened it before placing them in front of the two Pokémon. "Here you go."

As the two Pokémon began eating their Pokémon food, Seymour decided to taste one for himself, grabbing one from the container in Ash's hands and ate it. "This isn't really that bad."

"Really?" Ash asked. "I guess I'll try some too." Ash took out one of the Pokémon food and put it in his mouth, only to find it revolting to his taste buds.

Brock chuckled. "You might not like it but the Pokémon sure do. Anyway, Ash, about what Team Rocket said before, could you tell us about that Pokémon Egg of yours?"

Seymour nodded. "Yes. I've heard that too. I didn't see you carry one so I find it weird that they would talk about it. Did the Egg hatch?"

"Well, uh..." Ash turned to Misty, who gave him a nod that told him he could tell them. So Ash took a deep breath as he took out the Jewel of Life and placed it on the ground. "Here it is, the Egg that they wanted."

"Whoa!" Seymour gasped. "I've never seen a Pokémon Egg like this before! What kind of Pokémon do you think it is?"

Ash scratched his chin. "Well, Professor Oak didn't really tell me. All he said was that someone left that Egg for me when I received Pikachu for my first Pokémon. Not even the professor knows what kind of Pokémon it is. So it's a total mystery to me."

"So it must be a rare Pokémon Egg that no one has ever seen before," Brock replied as he reached out to hold the Jewel of Life, only for it to be swatted away by Beedrill, who instinctively hovered over the Jewel of Life defensively.

"It's also the reason why this Beedrill always follow us," Ash continued. "Ever since Misty and I left the Viridian Forest with Pikachu, Butterfree, Pidgeotto and my own Beedrill, this one just came to us. When it did, that brace of his appeared and that mark formed on it. Then it said that it was following us because it wanted to protect the Egg, isn't that right?"

Beedrill only hissed in return, but the humans all knew that it was a yes since Beedrill was still protecting the Jewel of Life.

"Pika! Pi!" Pikachu cried, gaining the attention of the humans and the other Pokémon.

"What's wrong, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

Pikachu didn't reply. Instead, he and Clefairy both hopped off from where they were sitting and were moving away as the others followed them after they had called back their Pokémon and for Ash to keep the Jewel of Life safely in his vest's pocket.

* * *

Night soon came and they were still following Clefairy and Pikachu as the two Pokémon led them up a path.

"Pikachu," Ash spoke. "Where are you even taking us?" After following them, they soon reached the end of the path, only to spot another cave entrance, which they soon head towards to when Clefairy hopped towards it.

As they entered the cave, they followed Clefairy down a pathway which led them to a room. And to their surprise, the room was filled with multiple Clefairy and a giant boulder, which looked similar to the silver rock that Clefairy held.

"It's the core of the Moon Stone!" Seymour said.

Clefairy made its way towards the Moon Stone's core, where it placed the rock it held down among all the other identical rocks that surrounded the giant boulder. Then, the rocks began to glow brightly, followed by the Moon Stone's core.

More Clefairy soon emerged all around the room and they all gathered around the Moon Stone's core as the Clefairy from before stepped forward to welcome the group. After that, the Clefairy all began dancing, which was basically hopping, around the Moon Stone's core.

"Amazing!" Seymour exclaimed. "I've never seen this many Clefairy before. At least not in the same place and dancing like this."

Ash soon spotted Pikachu and Clefairy talking to each other again and he decided to approached them. "What's Clefairy been telling you anyway, Pikachu?" Pikachu faced him and the Electric Mouse Pokémon began moving his paws around, almost as if he was playing charades.

"Uh...The Clefairy collect all these rocks and...do the Macarena!" Ash guessed, only for Pikachu to fall flat on his face and cross his arms to tell his partner that it was wrong.

After a few more guesses, Ash finally got the answer, after having some help from his friends, of course. "The Clefairy pray to the Moon Stone?" Pikachu nodded to signal a yes.

"Is it because the Moon Stone fell from the Heavens?" Seymour asked.

Misty shrugged. "Then maybe the legends are true. Maybe the Moon Stone really did come from Space!"

Seymour couldn't help but smile. "Of course! It all makes sense now! I'm sure it means that the Pokémon and the humans will ride the Moon Stone to Outer Space! First to the Moon, then to Mars, then together to the stars!"

"Stars? That's our cue!"

After hearing that familiar voice of Team Rocket's Meowth, Ash couldn't help but groan in annoyance. "Do they always have to make a dramatic entrance?" As they all turned around to face Team Rocket, Ash spoke again. "You guys don't know when to quit, do you?"

"Ash!" Seymour called out. "You can't let them take the Moon Stone. You know how important it is to the Clefairy, don't you?"

Ash nodded as he petted Pikachu's head. "Of course I do. That's why I'm sure Pikachu will chase them away as usual." Pikachu gave his partner a smile as he approached Team Rocket with a determined look.

"Onix! Help Pikachu out!" Brock cried as he tossed his Pokéball, releasing Onix from it as the two Pokémon stood together against Team Rocket.

Beedrill hovered beside Ash and eyed the Jewel of Life for a moment before anger flared up in his eyes and he flew over to Pikachu and Onix, raising his stingers at the same time. Ash smiled at seeing the Beedrill. "So you'll help us as well?" Beedrill simply nodded.

Jessie chuckled. "Please! Ekans, show them that numbers doesn't matter!" Pulling out her Pokéball, she tossed it out and it split open, releasing her Ekans.

"You too, Koffing!" James followed Jessie's lead, taking out Koffing's Pokéball and tossing it out for the Poison gas Pokémon.

"We'll end this quickly!" Ash cried. "Pikachu! Use Thunder Shock!"

"Onix! Tackle!" Brock followed.

As Pikachu charged up his body with electricity, Onix lunged forward with its head coming closer to Team Rocket. Moments later, Pikachu released the electricity in his body, executing his Thunder Shock attack. Beedrill followed them, raising his stingers and pointing them at Meowth, executing his Twineedle attack.

James smirked, nodding to Jessie before turning back to give Koffing an order. "Alright, Koffing! Use Smokescreen!"

"Ekans, use Dig!" Jessie cried.

Meowth grinned as he rubbed his paws together, eyeing Ash's vest. _"That Egg is mine!"_ The Scratch Cat Pokémon thought.

Ekans leapt into the air, and it slammed into the ground, creating a large hole that soon stretched towards the Moon Stone's core and out of the cave while Koffing released thick dark green smoke from the holes of its body which soon engulfed the entire area. Team Rocket, taking advantage of the smokescreen, leapt into the hole that Ekans created and made their way towards the Moon Stone's core while Meowth sneaked pass the Pokémon and ran towards Ash, silently grabbing the Jewel of Life and leaving through the hole behind them, where the Moon Stone's core once was seconds ago.

Unaware of what's happening, Ash brought out another Pokéball. "Smoke won't stop us! Pidgeotto, use Whirlwind!" As he tossed the Pokéball into the air, the Bird Pokémon was released from it and it began flapping its wings as a strong gust of wind began blowing the smoke away, clearing the entire cave. However, once it was cleared, they soon realized that the Moon Stone's core was missing. "The Moon Stone's gone!"

Ash felt that his vest was lighter than usual. He quickly reached for it worriedly and he gasped. "The Egg's missing too!"

"Team Rocket stole them!" Misty stated. "They must have done it when Koffing used Smokescreen."

Ash gritted his teeth. "The battle was just a trick so they could sneak away with them!" Then, he soon felt a murderous glare behind him and Ash gulped when he saw Beedrill pointing its stingers at him. The boy quickly wave his hands in defense. "Wait! Wait! Wait! Beedrill, I promise that I'll get the Egg back. So just calm down!"

Ignoring Ash's words, Beedrill lunged at him, only to be stopped by Ash's Beedrill, whom escaped its Pokéball by itself. Ash's Beedrill hissed at its friend and the two Beedrill argued for a full minute. Then, Beedrill lowered his stingers and his head hung low, feeling guilty at what Ash's Beedrill had said.

 _"You're the one to blame for not protecting Arceus's Son! It was your duty!"_ That sentence repeated continuously in Beedrill's head as Ash thanked his Beedrill and returned it to its Pokéball.

"Onix!" Brock called out. "Use Dig to follow them!" The Rock Snake Pokémon nodded as it dived into the hole while Ash and the others all ran out of the cave to give chase.

Seymour, however, stopped when he saw that the Clefairy weren't moving. He turned to them in confusion and spoke. "Clefairy, why aren't you chasing the people who took your Moon Stone?" The Clefairy all tilted their heads, confused by his words as Seymour continued. "The Moon Stone is sacred to you, isn't it? It's your responsibility to take it back from them. Do you understand that?"

The Clefairy all looked at one another, hesitant as they all nodded to Seymour, who smiled. "Then what are you waiting for? Let's go get the Moon Stone back!"

* * *

 **At Team Rocket's location:**

After escaping the cave with the Moon Stone's core and the Jewel of Life, Team Rocket laughed victoriously as they slid down the mountain.

"Nice guys always..." Jessie said.

"Finish last!" James finished.

Meowth snickered as he held the Jewel of Life firmly in his paws. "We just went from worst to first! And the boss is so going to be proud of us when we bring him this Pokémon Egg!"

However, their joyful moment was soon ended when Brock's Onix emerged from the ground in front of them, scaring Team Rocket as the Rock Snake Pokémon slammed its tail onto the ground, sending them into the air as Meowth dropped the Jewel of Life, which landed on the ground, rolling towards the Moon Stone's core.

"Nice work, Onix!" Brock cried as he and the others soon arrived. "Grab 'em now!"

James scoffed. "Koffing, use Tackle!" The Poison Gas Pokémon complied to its Trainer, slamming its body onto Onix's face, which knocked the Rock Snake Pokémon back a few steps. James smiled at Koffing as he pulled out a rose from out of nowhere. "Now, Koffing, use Sludge attack!" Koffing nodded, blasting sludge at Onix which covered the Rock Snake Pokémon's eyes.

Onix roared in frustration as it tried to rub off the sludge with its tail, which didn't work. Then, it soon collapsed when Koffing began continuously slamming itself all over it, causing pain to be inflicted onto Onix.

"Oh no!" Brock gasped as he grabbed Onix's Pokéball. "Onix, return!" A red glow emitted from the Rock Snake Pokémon as its entire body began to dissolve, returning to the Pokéball.

"Give us back the Moon Stone and the Egg!" Ash cried.

Jessie smirked. "Too bad for you, we're not going to give anything back!"

"GAH!" Meowth cried. "The Egg's gone! I can't find it!"

"WHAT?!"

Jessie raised her foot and slammed it onto Meowth's head as a vein appeared on her forehead. "What do you think you're doing?! How could you lose something as important as that?!"

"You should know better, Meowth!" James cried as he, too, began stomping on the Scratch Cat Pokémon.

"Clefairy~" Team Rocket soon froze, turning their head around to find out that all of the Clefairy that were from the cave, were now all leaping out from the hole that Onix had created. Not only them, Seymour emerged from it as well.

"What's going on?!" Meowth demanded, feeling worried at the amount of Clefairy all around him and his team.

Then, the Clefairy all began to raise their index fingers out and in unison, they began to wave their index fingers back and forth. Moments later, their index fingers began glowing white.

As the Clefairy continued waving their fingers, everyone else was also beginning to sway together in rhythm with the Fairy Pokémon, as if they were under a hypnosis.

"I'm getting dizzy..." Misty said as she swayed.

Seymour spoke. "This is an attack the Clefairy use called the Metronome. I've never seen the Clefairy use the Metronome before. Who knows what will happen."

As if on cue, the Clefairy all stopped as they all formed a bright yellow sphere in their hands and they fired the spheres at Team Rocket, launching them into the sky and at the same time, they destroyed the Moon Stone's core while the Jewel of Life formed cracks.

"Well, looks like Team Rocket's...blasting off again," Jessie muttered.

"Who knew that the Metronome would choose Hyper Beam..." James added.

Meowth, who was nearly passed out, replied to James. "Metronome chooses a random move...we're just unlucky that they chose Hyper Beam..."

Once Team Rocket were finally gone, everyone soon relaxed. But then, shards began falling from the sky and they all knew what the shards were. They were the fragments of the Moon Stone. As the shards slowly descended, they made contact with most of the Clefairy, whom then began to glow as their body grew taller with additional features appearing on their bodies, signalling that they were evolving.

As soon as the glow faded, all the Clefairy that had evolved now had vaguely star-shaped bodies. They had long, pointed ears with dark brown tips and black, oval eyes with wrinkles on either side. A curled lock of fur hangs over their foreheads, much like their large, upward-curling tail. They had dark pink, three-pointed wings on their backs and their hands had three fingers each, and their feet had two clawed toes and dark pink soles.

Ash quickly took out his Pokédex, which displayed an image of an evolved Clefairy. "Clefable, an advanced form of Clefairy. These unique creatures are among the rarest Pokémon in the world."

One of the newly evolved Clefable turned its head, spotting the Jewel of Life. It walked over to it and gently scooped it up with its hands before it began hopping towards Ash and handed it over to him.

"Uh...thanks," Ash replied as the Clefable smiled. Ash smiled back to it and he looked at the Jewel of Life. "I'm glad you're back. And I'm sorry for not keeping a close eye on you." Just then, he noticed the cracks and his eyes widened. "AAAHHHH! The Egg's cracked!"

But before anyone could say anything, the Jewel of Life began to glow, causing everyone to look away from the brightness of the glow. Ash soon felt the smooth sphere in his hands twitched, which surprised him as he felt fur forming on the Jewel of Life as it twitched again.

The Jewel of Life dissolved its hard shell, allowing the fetus inside it to enlarge as fur grew all over its body. The front and hind legs of the fetus twitched momentarily as a tail soon emerged from it, followed by sharp-pointed ears on each side of its head. Canine teeth emerged from its mouth, glittering in the moonlight as the glow on its body began to fade, revealing its pure white fur.

As everyone turned their attention to the newly hatched Pokémon, Misty couldn't help but smiled. "Aw~! It's so adorable!"

"What a fascinating Pokémon," Seymour said, leaning closer to the sleeping Pokémon. "I've never seen one of these before. I wonder what it's called."

"Let me check," Ash replied as he gently placed the baby Pokémon in Misty's waiting arms while he reached for his Pokédex, which displayed a static screen. "Error! Pokémon unknown! No available data!"

Ash blinked. "Even the Pokédex doesn't know what it is. But I'm sure the professor might know. Looks like we'll have to get to a Pokémon Center so I can call him." As he picked up the Pokémon from Misty's arms, Ash smiled. "Hello, little guy." The Pokémon, in return, twitched as it turned to its side, its tail swinging around slowly.

"Ash, why don't you try to keep it in a Pokéball? Wouldn't that be less of a burden since Pikachu's already out?" Misty asked.

"You're right," Ash nodded as he reached for an empty Pokéball on his belt. As he was about to touch the baby Pokémon with it, Beedrill lunged forward, swatting it out of Ash's hand as it gently grabbed the baby Pokémon from Ash, carefully placing it on the ground as he hovered over it, glaring at the boy while the mark on his brace glowed.

Ash raised his hands in defense once more. "Alright, I won't use a Pokéball. Jeez, at times like this, I wish I had that PokéTranslator."

* * *

Morning soon came as Ash and the others all left Mt. Moon, saying their farewells to the Clefairy, Clefable and Seymour, who had decided to live together with the Pokémon.

After a while of walking, they soon came to a pathway that split into two separate paths.

Brock approached a sign and read it. "This sign says that the right path will take us to Cerulean City. And wait...there's something else written on it."

Ash smiled. "They say some kids like to write silly notes on this signs. What's it..." When he saw the sign, his eyes only widened in shock and in anger. "Gary was here! Ash is a loser?! That Gary...I'LL SHOW YOU!"

However, the boy soon received a slap to the back of his head and he turned to see a saddened Misty glaring at him. "Will you keep it down? The baby is still asleep!"

"Still?"

* * *

 **Me: Well, Welcome back to the world, Arcus!**

 **Arcus: Yeah, yeah, whatever. So, we're heading to Cerulean next, huh? Wonder how Misty will do. Oh wait, we all already know how she'll react anyway.**

 **Me: So with Arcus born, it's time to bring back the rest of the gang, starting with Angel! Also, the** **PokéTranslator will be introduced in the next chapter!** **By the way, readers, the story will be ending at the Johto region since I'm skipping the Orange Islands, since it was a filler season after all. All I'm going to do is make Ash and the others get the G.S Ball and head back before going to Johto. Anyway objections? If so, tell me why and I might change my mind but all I may do on the Orange Islands is the G.S Ball and maybe 'Charizard Chills'. Other than that, I have nothing else to say, so please review!**

 **Angel: So...when will I be in the story?**


	9. Chapter 7: Cerulean Gym Battle

**Chapter 7: Cerulean Gym Battle**

 **Me: We're back~! Now let's jump right into the story, shall we?**

 **Arcus: Let's get going!**

 **Me: Time for the** **PokéTranslator to have its debut!**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own Pokémon but I do own Arcus and any other OCs in this story.**

* * *

 **Response to Guest reviews:**

 **Girlfish: With Arceus in hiding, he won't be quite noticeable. But of course, I do have something special planned for the Trainer who abandoned Charmander.**

 **Hailey: Will do!**

 **AngelFaux: It's here!**

* * *

"Hey! Wait up!" Misty cried as she ran to catch up with the boys.

Ash and Brock turned to their friend with a confused look and Ash asked. "What's wrong, Misty?"

Misty stopped in front of them, hands on her knees as she panted heavily. "Where...do...you think you're going?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ash asked, still remembering that they had just passed the sign that told them the direction to Cerulean City. "We're going to Cerulean City for the my Gym Badge. And there's a Pokémon Center in the town too. I want the professor to see the little guy so he could tell me about it." Ash continued as he lifted the still asleep Pokémon up, who gave a small yawn and twitched its left leg.

Brock smiled at the Pokémon and petted its head. "I never knew a baby Pokémon needed this much sleep. Other baby Pokémon all wake up almost immediately after they've hatch. So why doesn't this one?"

"At least we know it's breathing," Misty stated. "It would have been sad if it wasn't."

"Misty!" Brock hissed as he leaned closer to her. "That was a bit dark, don't you think? It's not dead, you know!"

"Of course I know that!" Misty retorted before turning her attention to Ash. "Anyway, Ash, I don't think you would want to get a Badge from Cerulean City. I hear that Vermilion City is way better. It's right on the water and there's a Gym there too! And you can watch all the giant yachts pulling into the harbor and there's this little park way up on the hill where you can sit and watch the sunset that's so romantic. It's much more nicer than that boring old Cerulean City!"

Ash wasn't interested. "Sorry, Misty. But we're already close to Cerulean City anyway so we might as well just go there and get the Badge." Misty's jaw dropped, shocked by the boy's response as he and Brock walked right by her.

* * *

 **In Cerulean City:**

"The coast is clear," James spoke as he exited the vents and leapt down onto the floor, turning on his flashlight while Jessie and Meowth followed him.

Jessie dusted herself and looked towards her team. "So why are we here, exactly?"

"Don't you remember, Jessie?" James asked. "We're here to get a giant vacuum machine and a giant hose and this is the only place we can get those."

"I know that!" Jessie replied. "But what I don't get is why are we even getting them? What's the reason for it?"

Meowth could only grin. "Sounds like someone wasn't paying attention to our latest plan." Jessie could only scratch the back of her head sheepishly as Meowth continued. "We're getting those things because we're going to be stealing the Pokémon from the Cerulean Gym. Think about it, all those Water-type Pokémon, kept in the Gym. What's more, that Gym's filled with water. So when we steal the vacuum and the hose, we'll be able to suck up all the water in the Gym and get the Pokémon!"

James nodded. "A genuine plan, formed by our favorite Pokémon, Meowth."

"I see..." Jessie said. "I've heard that the Gym Leaders of Cerulean Gym are becoming the weakest Gym in the whole region and now they've started a water show. Quite a waste of Pokémon, if I say so myself."

Meowth's grin widened. "And guess what? The twerps were all on Mt. Moon, right? Then that means that they'll be coming to Cerulean to get another Badge. Then, we'll be able to swipe that Pikachu and Egg right away!"

"Now that truly is a genuine plan!" Jessie smiled.

Soon, they finally found the vacuum and the hose at the end of the room.

"Found it," James said.

"Just what we need to get just what we want," Jessie finished. "Now let's quickly take it and get out of here before the store opens."

* * *

 **At Cerulean City's** **Pokémon Center:**

"Excuse me, Nurse?" Ash spoke. "Could you please give my Pokémon a checkup?"

The Nurse, who was obviously another Nurse Joy, smiled and she picked up the tray, containing all of Ash's Pokéballs and Pikachu. "Certainly, young man. Just give me a few minutes and they'll be up and ready again in no time!"

As Nurse Joy took them away, Ash was going to ask her a question about her family but he decided not to since he probably knew the answer to it already. Instead, he made his way to the video phones and sat down at the closest one to him, with Beedrill close by. Ash began dialing Professor Oak's number and soon, it displayed an image of the professor laughing heartily with a Raticate next to him.

"Uh...professor?"

When Professor Oak heard the boy's voice, his laughter stopped and he smiled. _"Oh, it's you, Ash! I have good news for you. The_ _PokéTranslator has been proven successful! I've tested it out on quite a few of the Pokémon back here at the lab and it's working quite well no matter what kind of Pokémon puts on the PokéTranslator, like this Raticate over here. Say hi, Raticate!"_

 ** _"Nice to meet,_ _you,_** _ **"**_ The Raticate replied as it faced Ash.

Surprised, Ash fell off his seat and crashed onto his back. Once he was up again, he stared at the Raticate in awe. "That's so cool! So where's the PokéTranslator?"

Professor Oak smiled, pointing towards the small device, which resembled a small silver marble, that was located on Raticate's right ear. _"This is the device, Ash. All you have to do is place it in the_ _Pokémon's ear and it will be done. Either that or attach it to the Pokémon's neck."_

"Sweet!" Ash exclaimed. "So when am I getting mine?"

The professor replied. _"You're in Cerulean City, like I've predicted, right? Then tell Nurse Joy that you're expecting a delivery from me. She'll know what to do. I'm giving you six of the_ _PokéTranslator, Ash. Use one for the Beedrill that keeps following you and to find out why its protecting the Egg and the others for your own Pokémon. Speaking of the Egg, where is it?"_

Ash grinned. "You're gonna have a surprise of your life, professor! Look! It hatched last night!" As soon as Ash brought the baby Pokémon to the screen, the Raticate froze with his jaw dropped while the professor was delighted and glad.

 _"Oh my! Now that is definitely a one-of-a-kind_ _Pokémon! I've never seen it before, even from the other regions!"_ Professor Oak cried. _"I'm so glad that you've managed to hatch it, Ash."_

Ash only smiled. "Well, it was fun waiting for it to hatch! Anyway, what's it called? The Pokédex didn't have any information on it."

Professor Oak folded his arms. _"That's the thing, Ash. I, too, don't know what it is. When I received the Egg on the day before you came to collect it, the man who gave it to me, A, said that it's called Arcus if its a boy. It was as if he was certain about the gender. Anyway, we'll just have to go with it and call the Pokémon, Arcus."_

"Arcus, huh?" Ash said, looking at the baby Pokémon in his hands. "Well, does this 'A' person know what type of Pokémon Arcus is?"

The professor shrugged. _"He didn't say anything. He just handed me the Egg and just left after telling me its name and to give it to you. But anyway, it's time for me to go, Ash. It's almost time for the_ _Pokémon's lunch. And take good care of Arcus! He's not an Egg anymore, after all."_

As the screen shut off, ending the call, Ash placed the phone down and gently rubbed Arcus's forehead, which caused the baby Pokémon to smile and purr.

"Excuse me?" Nurse Joy called out. "Your Pokémon are all revitalized and are ready!"

"Thanks Nurse Joy!" Ash replied as he retrieved his Pokéballs while Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder. Then Ash turned to Nurse Joy again. "I'm sorry, Nurse Joy? Professor Oak told me to tell you that he sent me a delivery."

Nurse Joy blinked and smiled. "Oh. So you're the Ash Ketchum boy that he told me about on the video phone. Well, you're one lucky boy, Ash. You're actually the first Pokémon Trainer in the whole world to receive the PokéTranslator. Six of them, in fact! I've heard that one of these will cost over a few hundred Pokédollars once it's out."

"Whoa! They're that expensive?" Ash asked in disbelief.

The Nurse nodded. "Yes. Since the process of making it is quite tedious, it cost a lot to compensate for the scientists' hard work. And to actually allow us to understand what the Pokémon say, it's truly worth the money. Hopefully, you'll make good use of them with your Pokémon." As she picked up a small package from below the counter, she handed it to Ash, who opened it up and removed all six of the PokéTranslators.

Picking one up, he placed it in Pikachu's left ear, which made the Electric Mouse Pokémon shiver from the sudden contact of the device. After a moment, he calmed down and turned to Ash and, for the first time, spoke in a boyish voice. **"Hey! You know that felt weird, do you?"**

Ash smiled. "Pikachu! I can understand you!"

Pikachu blinked and was quiet for a few seconds. But when he was aware of what Ash said, he almost screamed. **"You understand me?!"**

"Of course I do!" Ash smiled. "That PokéTranslator really works!"

Nurse Joy giggled at Pikachu and spoke. "It may take a while for you to get use to it, Pikachu. Just try and relax."

 **"When did this happen?!"** Pikachu asked.

Ash replied. "Professor Oak made a PokéTranslator that helps Pokémon speak to people. So now, I can understand anything you tell me!"

Pikachu, hearing that, frowned. **"Oh. It would have come in handy back at Mt. Moon when I was telling you what the Clefairy were doing. But it's in the past now."**

The boy then picked up the Electric Mouse Pokémon and smiled to him. "This is so great! Now we'll really be the best of friends!"

* * *

 **Somewhere in Kanto's Safari Zone:**

Arceus, in his human form, smiled as he felt a familiar feeling growing in him. The disguised Alpha Pokémon sat down next to a sleeping Rhyhorn. "So he's finally awaken. Within time, he'll receive his Universal Brace and we'll finally meet, Arcus..."

* * *

As Ash, Pikachu, Beedrill and Arcus left the Pokémon Center, he was greeted by Brock, who was back from searching for Misty. "Couldn't find her anywhere. She must really not want to come to Cerulean City."

"I wonder why she hates this place so much," Ash said before he gave the Pokémon Breeder a smile. "Hey Brock, guess what the professor just gave me?"

Brock shrugged. "What did he give you?"

"Pikachu, care to give Brock a demonstration?" Ash asked, earning a smile from the Electric Mouse Pokémon.

 **"Don't you think it's nice to finally hear me talk to you?"** Pikachu asked, making Brock take a step back from shock. Pikachu only laughed. **"I can't wait to see how Misty will react to this!"**

"I-Is that the PokéTranslator?" Brock asked. "I thought it wouldn't come out for months!"

Ash grinned. "Seems that I'm a special case. Professor Oak gave me six of them."

"Okay, you don't have to rub it in, you know," Brock sighed. Ash then apologized to him, which the Pokémon Breeder accepted and asked. "So, are you ready to go to Cerulean Gym?"

Ash nodded. "Of course! With Pikachu using the PokéTranslator, I'm sure we'll be able to stay focus!"

Brock smiled. "Well then, let's just hope that the burglar who stole the vacuum and hose doesn't come by to steal your PokéTranslators. They're worth hundreds!"

"Of course I will," Ash replied. "Anyway, you got any inside info on the Gym Leader at the Gym? I just want to find out as much as I can about 'em before our match. As the Pokédex once told me, 'know yourself, know your adversary, and you hold the key to victory'."

Brock seemed to have hesitated but nevertheless, he replied. "Well, I know that there are three Gym Leaders, who will decide among themselves on who will battle the challengers. They all share the same Pokémon and they're all Water-types. So Pikachu might have an advantage over them. But I can't tell you what Pokémon they use. I'm was a Gym Leader too. I can't tell you out of respect."

Ash nodded. "Just knowing what kind of Pokémon type they have is enough. Am I right, Pikachu?"

 **"You bet!"** Pikachu nodded.

Brock smiled. "Well, I have some stuff that I need to check and get. We're going to be heading for a long journey after all. I'll meet you at the Cerulean Gym once I'm done."

"Sure thing, Brock!" Ash replied as he watched the Pokémon Breeder walk off. "Come one, Pikachu, Beedrill, let's get going!" Pikachu gave him a smile while Beedrill ignored him, following them from behind.

After a few turns, they soon found the Gym, which was decorated with waves and a giant Dewgong was on top of the waves.

However, as soon as they entered the Gym, an announcer spoke aloud. "Ladies and Gentlemen! Please welcome our stars of the show, the Sensational, Cerulean City's synchronized swimming Sisters!"

Spotlights soon shined at the top of the Gym, where three women, standing side-by-side, waved at the crowd before they leapt into the waters, executing synchronized flips before diving into the water to begin their performance.

"Huh?" Ash blinked. "I thought this was a Pokémon Gym."

Unfortunately for him, Pikachu was busy being mesmerized by the swimmers, that he completely ignored Ash. **"They're amazing..."**

Ash sighed as he rubbed his temple. "Ugh...I can't believe you, Pikachu. Looks like we'll just have to wait till the show's over so we can ask those girls if they know where the Gym Leaders are at."

* * *

It took at least an hour for the performance to finish, much to Ash's disappointment as he placed Arcus down on one of the empty seats for Beedrill to look after and slowly made his way pass the crowd leaving the Gym while making his way towards the swimmers.

"Excuse me!" Ash called out, gaining their attention.

"I'm sorry," spoke the pink-haired Sensational Sister. "If you want an interview, you have to, like, call our manager."

"No, it's not that," Ash replied.

The pink-haired Sensational Sister frowned. "We don't do autographs either, kid."

Ash sighed. "I don't want one either. I really just want to know if this is a Pokémon Gym." In response, he received nods from the Sensational Sisters and he smiled. "Well, I'm looking for the Gym Leaders."

"You're looking at them," replied the blonde-haired Sensational Sister. "The three of us are the Gym Leaders."

"HUH?!" Ash exclaimed in shock. "But what's with all that swimming?!"

The pink-haired Sensational Sister smiled at the boy and replied. "It's, like, our hobby and our fans just love to watch us perform."

Ash rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I challenge all of you to a Gym Battle!"

Now, the indigo-haired Sensational Sister spoke. "Um...we can't actually battle you at the moment. We just got beaten three times in a row by kids from this nowhere place called Pallet Town. It was just one defeat after another and my eyes were spinning from all the loses. We had to rush all of our Pokémon to the Pokémon Center."

"This is the only one left..." The pink-haired Sensational Sister sighed as she brought out a Pokéball and released the Pokémon inside, only for Ash to find out that it was a Goldeen.

Ash blinked. "You're telling me that all you have left is that Goldeen?"

The indigo-haired Sensational Sister nodded. "If it would evolve into Seaking, we could use it. But all it knows now is Horn Attack. And we do have a Seel as well but we mostly use it for our performance, not for battling. So we're pretty much not able to battle anyone until all of our Pokémon are healed."

"And now," continued the pink-haired Sensational Sister. "Instead of having matches, we have time to make ourselves more beautiful than ever!"

The blonde-haired Sensational Sister noticed a slight frown on Ash's saddened face and she approached him. "I know what you want. You want a Cascade Badge, don't you?" She clapped her hands and called out to their second remaining Pokémon, Seel, which soon emerged from the pool and leapt out of it to land beside the Sensational Sisters.

"So that's a Seel, huh?" Ash mumbled as he pulled out his Pokédex.

"Seel, the Sea Lion Pokémon. The protruding horn on its head is very hard. It is used for bashing through thick ice," announced the Pokédex as it displayed an image of the Pokémon, which was a Pokémon with a thick hide covered in bluish white fur. It had a pale tan maw with a large red tongue and a pair of tusks on its lower jaw. It also had circular eyes, a black nose, a small horn on its forehead, two flippers on its chest, and two more on the end of its tail.

The Sea Lion Pokémon stretched out its tongue, revealing a Gym Badge that was shaped like a light blue raindrop. The blonde-haired Sensational Sister picked up the Badge from the Pokémon and showed it to Ash. "This is what you want, right? You can have it."

"Thanks," Ash replied. "But I rather earn my Badges."

"Take it. A Badge is a Badge," replied the blonde-haired Sensational Sister.

Ash looked at them for a moment and sighed. What choice did he have? He wants to beat Gary Oaks by becoming Pallet's best Pokémon Trainer and to do that, he had to get his Badges. But still, he wanted to battle the Gym Leaders, so he could learn and strengthen his Pokémon. He was confused but he made his decision and approached the Sensational Sisters and outstretched his hand to receive the Cascade Badge.

"Wait just a minute, Daisy!"

Ash, hearing that familiar and annoying voice, turned his head to the left and his eyes widened. "Misty?!"

Misty approached them, glaring at the Sensational Sisters. "What do you think you're doing?! You're just going to give that idiot a Badge without battling him? Violet, Lily, why are you even with her?!"

"Misty, why are you here?" Ash asked.

"I'm a Cerulean City Pokémon Trainer too," Misty replied. "I'm the fourth Sensational Sister!"

"There are only three Sensational Sisters and one runt," the pink-haired Sensational Sister, named Lily, added, much to Misty's annoyance.

Daisy, who is the blonde Sensational Sister, placed her hands on her hips and looked at Misty. "So little sister. I'm surprised to see you back so soon."

Violet, the indigo-haired Sensational Sister, huffed. "That little girl with the big mouth who said she wouldn't come back until she was a great Pokémon Trainer, wasn't that you?"

"I...guess I did say something like that when I left," Misty replied, looking away.

Ash blinked. "Is that why you didn't want to come here?"

Lily folded her arms and gave Misty a smug look. "Misty, you left here pretending that you wanted to become a Pokémon Trainer because you couldn't compare with us. Because we're _obviously_ much more talented and beautiful than you are!"

"That wasn't the reason!" Misty cried.

Daisy sighed. "Well then, I guess you came back because you couldn't make it as a Pokémon Trainer."

"It wasn't my idea to come back here!" Misty replied as she pointed to Ash. "The only reason I'm here is because of him!"

Daisy giggled at her sister's explanation and spoke. "He's totally not the type of guy I would choose for a boyfriend but you're no prize yourself."

"My boyfriend?!" Misty exclaimed with her face slightly turning red while Ash fell on his face from what Daisy had said. "If I battle him, that will prove that I'm not a quitter, and that I'm just as good as a Trainer as you three and that he's not my boyfriend!"

Her response was a shrug from Daisy, who replied to her. "You are the only one of us with a Pokémon that can actually battle so I don't see why not. Just give us and Seel a few minutes to set things up and we'll see how well you'd do in a battle."

* * *

After setting up the court for the Gym Battle, Misty and Ash were on their sides of the court.

"I wasn't planning on challenging you until you paid me back for my bike but this is a good time too," Misty called out. "If you want that Cascade Badge, you're gonna have to beat me!"

Ash smiled. "It would be my pleasure! This one's going to be a piece of cake, right, Pikachu?"

Pikachu, however, didn't share the same view as Ash. **"Uh...Ash? I think I rather sit this one out."**

"Wha...why?!" Ash asked, only to quickly realize the answer almost immediately. "You know what? Forget it. I know the answer anyway. That Misty's become like a good friend to you that you wouldn't even dare to hurt her, huh?"

"You're a good pal, Pikachu!" Misty smiled, which made Pikachu lighten up as she took out a Pokéball. "The rules of this Gym Battle are two against two! You ready Ash? Because I'm calling Staryu!"

As her star-shaped Pokémon was released from the capsule, it emerged from the white glow and landed in the water as Ash pulled out his Pokédex which displayed an image of Staryu. "Staryu. The core of this Water Pokémon shines in a rainbow of seven colors, a core that is valued by some as a type of jewelry."

"If only you would help me, Pikachu..." Ash grumbled as he pulled out one of his Pokéballs and tossed it, releasing the Pokémon inside of it, which was his newly caught Zubat. Ash looked at his new Pokémon with interest as his Pokédex displayed an image of it. "I don't remember checking Zubat's data when I caught it so I might as well."

"Zubat, blind Pokémon with supersonic powers. Zubat live in caves and hate to fly outside in daylight."

Ash smiled. "I can work with this. Alright, Zubat! Let's start the battle with a Supersonic attack!" The Bat Pokémon complied to its Trainer, releasing waves of yellow energy towards the Star Shape Pokémon.

"Staryu, dive underwater and use Tackle!"

The Star Shape Pokémon dived under the water, avoiding the attack from Zubat as it began spinning as it launched itself out of the water, striking Zubat's wing before falling back into the water. As it emerged from the water again. Zubat flew away, dodging the attack as it awaited Ash's next command.

"Zubat, use Bite!" Ash cried. The Bat Pokémon nodded and turned to Staryu as it emerged from the water once again to attack the Bat Pokémon. Zubat widened its jaws, exposing its fangs and bit down onto the Star Shape Pokémon, causing Staryu to cry out in pain. "Zubat, use Leech Life!" The Bat Pokémon, thanks to Ash's new command, wasn't done. As its fangs gripped onto Staryu, a blue aura emitted from the two Pokémon as energy began transferring from Staryu to Zubat, draining whatever's left in Staryu while Zubat healed.

Misty gritted her teeth. "Staryu! Break free using Water Gun!"

Staryu complied, blasting water from the tip of its top-most limb, which was stuck inside of Zubat's mouth. The Bat Pokémon choked, coughing out the Star Shape Pokémon as it coughed out the water from its mouth while Staryu fell onto one of the floating boards, completely exhausted.

Ash grunted. "A dirty trick, Misty. Zubat, use Bite one more time!"

"Staryu! Jump into the water, quickly!"

Unfortunately for the Star Shape Pokémon, due to its exhaustion, it wasn't able to make it in time as Zubat collided into it and bit down onto it's jewel-like core, which soon cracked, ending the battle.

"Good job, Zubat!" Ash smiled as Zubat flew over to him. The boy petted the Bat Pokémon's head and turned to Misty. "That's one win for me. One more to go and I'll get my Badge!"

Misty scoffed. "One win doesn't mean that you'll win the next one, Ash! Now, I'm calling Starmie!" Tossing her next Pokéball, a Pokémon which looked similar to Staryu emerged from it. The Pokémon, who Misty called Starmie, was a violet sea star-like Pokémon with a gold formation on its front with a developed jewel core that resembled a cut precious stone and a second set of semi-attached arms could be seen as well.

In an instance, Ash brought out his Pokédex again which soon displayed an image of Starmie. "Starmie, the Mysterious Pokémon. An evolved form of Staryu. Its central core glows with the seven colors of the rainbow. Some people value the core as a gem."

"Zubat, can I count on you for a second round?" Ash asked, receiving a nod from the Bat Pokémon as it flew over to Starmie. "Alright, use Bite!"

This time, Misty smirked. "Starmie, use Bubblebeam!"

Starmie complied to its Trainer, spreading its limbs out as bubbles began forming from the tips which were then fired at Zubat with a speed the Bat Pokémon can't keep up with. The bubbles collided with Zubat, causing it to screech as it was knocked back from the attack.

"Huh?" Ash blinked. "What just happened? Did Zubat just got hurt by bubbles?"

Misty chuckled. "Looks like you still have a lot to learn, Ash. Bubblebeam is an attack that inflicts damage on Pokémon using bubbles. Everyone knows that. Starmie, let's avenge Staryu. Use Tackle!" Starmie leapt into the air and it began spinning at a high speed, which allowed the Mysterious Pokémon to glide around the pool as it chased after Zubat.

Ash scoffed. "Zubat, don't let Starmie get to you! Use Supersonic!" The Bat Pokémon complied, turning around and releasing waves of yellow energy at Starmie, who was able to maneuver around the attack and land a direct hit on Zubat, causing the Bat Pokémon to hiss as it fell into the waters. Zubat quickly came back up but it was no longer able to fly now that it was drenched, which gave Misty and Starmie the advantage.

"Starmie, use Tackle!" Misty said.

The Mysterious Pokémon changed its direction, making a straight dive towards Zubat, who was now trapped in the water with no chance of escaping. However, that didn't stop Ash from trying. "Zubat, when Starmie gets close enough, I want you to use Leech Life!" The Bat Pokémon gave Ash an understanding nod as it awaited Starmie.

Misty smirked. "I knew you were going for that again. Starmie, use Water Gun now!"

In an instance, Starmie stopped, aiming its uppermost limb at Zubat as it released a spiral of water at the Bat Pokémon, forcing Zubat under the water again as Starmie dived into the water as well before continuing its Tackle attack again, crashing into Zubat, who's hiss of pain was muffled by the water and replaced by air bubbles that floated to the surface with the Bat Pokémon close by. Zubat soon surfaced, completely defeated by Starmie.

At the sidelines, Daisy smiled. "Misty's totally awesome."

Lily giggled at her sister's words and replied to her. "Well, we three got the good looks in the family so I guess she had to get some talent."

Ash's jaw had dropped. He was speechless at Zubat's defeat. The boy then quickly took out Zubat's Pokéball and called back the unconscious Pokémon into the capsule. "You did well, Zubat. We didn't win this one, but at least you got us the first one. Take a rest. I'll let Pidgeotto handle this one now." Once he had gotten out the Bird Pokémon's Pokéball, Ash tossed it, releasing Pidgeotto from it.

"Let's do the same thing again, Starmie!" Misty said as Starmie submerged itself under the water before launching itself out of the water again, executing its Tackle attack as it flew towards Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeotto, make this one a quick victory! Use Wing Attack!"

As Starmie approached Pidgeotto, the Bird Pokémon raised one of its wings and swung it, knocking the Mysterious Pokémon back into the water, which it soon emerged from again, slamming into the Bird Pokémon. However, Ash noticed that Starmie had became slower as well.

"Whirlwind it, Pidgeotto! Starmie's already weakened!"

Pidgeotto gave its Trainer a nod and it began flapping its wings, causing a strong gust of wind to blow away Starmie, which sent the Mysterious Pokémon flying pass Misty and crashing into the wall behind her. Starmie collapsed onto the floor, its jewel core blinking.

"Oh no," Misty gasped. "Starmie lost!"

However, before Misty could do anything else, the entire Gym began to shake, almost causing Ash, Misty and Pikachu to fall into the water. And soon, one of the walls was smashed down as a large vehicle drove into the Gym, with Team Rocket on it.

Seeing Jessie's hair, Violet couldn't help but find it bizarre. "Check out that hair."

"Who invited the party crashers?" Daisy asked as Misty and Ash got off the floating platforms they were on to join the three sisters.

"Sorry to break in on you, ladies," Jessie spoke.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves," James continued while he brought out a blue rose as they moved on to their motto, again.

"To protect the world from devastation..."

"To unite all people within our nation..."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love..."

"To extend our reach to the stars above..."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!" Finished Meowth as he appeared from a hatch on the vehicle.

Ash groaned. "What do you three want this time?"

James smiled. "Isn't it obvious, little boy? The Water Pokémon have the advantage in this water-filled Gym, but if we steal all of the water, the Pokémon are ours for the taking! And of course, that precious rare Egg of yours as well."

"Forget it, Team Rocket!" Ash cried. "You won't be getting the Egg anymore. Because it already-"

"Shut it, Ash!" Misty hissed silently at him as she slapped her hand over his mouth. "What do you think you're doing?! Do you want them to find out that the Egg hatch? That would be the most dumbest thing to do ever!"

Jessie raised a brow. "What did you say? Tell us, boy. Why won't we be getting the Egg?"

"Uh..." Ash started, unsure of what to say. "Because...um..." However, Beedrill decided to take the first action and lunged at Team Rocket. Seeing the Beedrill, Ash turned to Misty. "You've got to get to the top seat where Beedrill was at! The baby's there!"

"WHAT?!" Misty cried. "You mean to tell me that you left it there with the Bug Pokémon?!"

Ash shrugged. "It was the only option I got! It's not like I would've let Beedrill look after it if you would have just followed us here to the Gym!"

Meowth smirked. "Jessie, James, handle the Bug Pokémon. I'm going to get the Egg." The two humans gave him a confused look and Meowth explained himself. "That Beedrill protects the Egg. And he came from one of the top seats at the end of the room. If you two could distract them, I'll be able to swipe the Egg and make a run for it while you get the other Pokémon."

"Great idea, Meowth," James replied as he activated the vacuum they had stolen during the morning, throwing the giant hose they had also stolen into the water as it began to drain the water from the pool, sucking in the floating boards as well. Then, James pulled a lever, causing the vacuum to blast the water it had drained at Beedrill, who was able to dodge it easily.

Seeing the machine, Ash blinked. "A massive vacuum and hose. I should have known it was them who stole the things Officer Jenny told me and Brock!"

At the same time, Meowth saw his chance and he leapt onto the floating boards, jumping onto them before making his way to dry ground and up the stairs where he began searching the seats for Arcus while James and Jessie blasted another round of water at Ash and the others. As Meowth reached the last row of seats, he was greeted by a sight he wasn't expecting. In front of him, soundly asleep, was not the Pokémon Egg he and his companions were obsessed about. Instead, it was a baby Pokémon that he had never seen before.

"Don't tell me..." Meowth muttered, remembering what Ash was about to say minutes ago. "The Egg has hatched?!"

Ash turned and spotted the Scratch Cat Pokémon before facing the Poison Bee Pokémon. "Beedrill! Meowth's going after Arcus!"

Beedrill turned and glared as he saw Meowth reaching out for the Son of Arceus. The Poison Bee Pokémon raised his front stingers and flew towards Meowth, only to be stopped by a blast of water from Meowth's companions, drenching his wings, the only way he could get to Meowth in time.

James snickered. "Oops. Sorry. Meowth, get the Egg and let's get out of here!"

"Not so fast!" Ash cried. "Pikachu, get on the machine and use Thunder Bolt!" The Electric Mouse Pokémon did as he was told and smiled as he leapt onto the floating board nearest to the machine and got onto it as electricity sparked from his cheeks. Then, he released it in an instant, blasting all of his stored energy into the attack as the entire vehicle short-circuited, stopping the vacuum from draining anymore water as the machine itself blew up, taking Jessie and James along with it.

"Looks like we're blasting off again!" James cried.

Jessie groaned. "But Meowth's not with us! At least I hope he got the Egg."

As the two Team Rocket members fade away into the sky, Meowth was met with an overwhelming aura that made his fur stand on end. He turned back to Arcus, only to see that the Baby Pokémon was still asleep, but was being guarded by Ash's Pidgeotto and Beedrill, who were both giving Meowth death glares that made the Scratch Cat Pokémon whimper in fear.

"Uh...can we talk about this?" Meowth asked, only to be blasted out of the Gym by Pidgeotto's Whirlwind.

Once everything had calmed down, Ash recalled both Pidgeotto and his Beedrill to their Pokéballs after thanking them. He grabbed a towel from Misty and dried up Beedrill's wing, who quickly took off towards Arcus and stayed by the Baby Pokémon's side.

Daisy sighed in relief before turning to Ash. "Looks like you and your Pokémon saved us and the Gym, Ash. Not only that, but you beat Misty in a Gym Battle, so that means you get what you've been waiting for. The Cascade Badge." As she presented the Badge to him, she turned to Misty with a teasing smirk. "And you've got a lot of training to do, little sis."

Misty huffed as she folded her arms and looked away. "I would have won. He just got lucky."

Violet shrugged. "I don't know about that, Misty. If he had just used Pikachu from the start, there's no way you would have won. Pikachu's Electric attacks will make the water a hazardous place to be in for your Water Pokémon. So really, you're the one who was lucky that Pikachu didn't want to battle you."

As they made their way out of the Gym, Lily spoke. "Misty, you just go right on trying to be a Pokémon trainer. You might as well be good at something, cause you'll never be stars like us."

"You keep that up and you will be seeing stars!" Misty yelled, slightly flushing.

Daisy laughed. "Misty, be careful. You know we love you."

Ash smiled at the sisters and then looked down at his arms, where Arcus lied asleep and with Beedrill hovering beside him. And at that moment, Brock arrived. "Hey Brock, look! I did it! I won the Cascade Badge!"

Brock smiled. "That's great, Ash. Nice work. Now come on, let's get moving! Vermilion City will be the next place you'll be going to get your next Badge!"

"Alright! Come on, Misty!" Ash said, chasing after Brock, who was already making his way towards the path that led out of Cerulean City.

As the three Sensational Sisters watch their little sister leave with the boys, Violet soon asked her sister a question. "Hey girls, wasn't that Brock guy the one who we rejected a few months ago?"

* * *

 **Me: It's finally done! How did you guys like it? And how do you like this improved version of Ash, huh? He's better than canon Ash, right? Anyway, the next chapter might be out slow since the years coming to an end and well, school's about to open soon so you guys know what will happen after that. But I hope you guys will be able to wait patiently for the next chapter!**

 **Arcus: So you just reduced me to nothing more than a baby who's been asleep for almost two days straight? What the hell's wrong with you?**

 **Me: What? Do you think that you would just wake up like a normal baby without properly adapting to the five Plates you've been given by Arceus? I mean, it would take at least that long for your body to get use to the items, even if you are a Legendary Pokémon. Also, on another side note, do you guys want to ask Arcus any questions? I'm sure he'll be happy to listen and answer anything you guys have in mind.**


	10. Chapter 8: Kanto Starters part 1

**Chapter 8: Kanto Starters part 1**

 **Me: The eighth chapter of this rewrite is finally up! Wohoo! And before we do anything else, sorry that this was late. School has started again and at the same time, a lot of time was spent to prepare for tests which was just over too so update was slow. Without further ado, Arcus, let's head to the disclaimer!**

 **Arcus: Alright then. But before that, we have a few questions to answer.**

 **Me: Right. First one comes from Owldusk who asks if you were aware of what was around you when you were still an egg and the second question comes from AngelFaux who asks if Team Rocket will ever learn that you're Arceus's Son.**

 **Arcus: *Clears throat* Well let's begin. Owldusk, to answer your question, I would have to say no since my eyes were completely shut while I was still an egg. But I wouldn't want it anyway. You don't want to know how many times Ash has dropped me off screen. And as for you, AngelFaux, Team Rocket will definitely learn of my identity, the moment my dad shows up, of course. So that will be quite a while.**

 **Me: And that takes care of the questions. On to the disclaimer!**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own Pokémon but I do own Arcus and any other OCs in this story.**

* * *

 **Response to Guest reviews:**

 **GirlFish: You'll just have to see then. As for Charmander's asshole of a trainer, judgement shall be passed! For Ash and his friends to meet Arceus, like I said, would be after he gets his last Badge. As for the Tentacool and Tentacruel episode, I'll have to think about that episode since I never did it in the original story.**

 **Hailey: Well, sorry for the long wait. But I hope you'll enjoy this one.**

* * *

Days have went by after Ash had received his Cascade Badge from Misty's sisters and the group was currently making their way towards Vermilion City, where Ash will try to get his next Badge. And at the moment, the group was currently stuck in the middle of a forest that they were having a hard time navigating out of.

"This is all your fault, Ash Ketchum!" Misty cried out in annoyance as she smashed her fist onto the boy's head.

Ash clutched his head in pain and stumbled forward with his other arm carefully holding onto Arcus's sleeping body before turning towards Misty with a glare. "What did I do this time, huh? And will you quit it? Can't you see that Arcus is still asleep?"

Misty huffed. "It's because you decided to take that stupid turn that we're trap here!"

"And who was the one who kept telling us to go left, huh?!" Ash retorted, trying his best not to yell.

"Well, you were the one who got us off the road saying that this was a short cut. Have you ever been out of your Pallet Town?" Misty argued.

Brock sighed as he stepped in between the two with his arms separating them. "Alright guys, chill out. We'll get by some how so don't worry, alright?"

Misty folded her arms and looked away. "Fine. But remind me to yell at you some more when we get to Vermilion City."

Hours soon went by as they traveled through the forest, but they were still lost. Then, they decided to take a small break, where they soon discovered a small puddle of water formed from water flowing out of a small pond. And drinking from the puddle was a Pokémon they had never seen before. It resembled a blue plant bulb with a round body, beady red eyes, and oval, foot-like roots. Five large, green leaves sprout from its head as well.

"Wow!" Ash exclaimed. "That's a new one. What's that Pokémon?"

As he took out his Pokédex, it began displaying an image of the Pokémon as it spoke. "Oddish. This Pokémon is typically found roaming the forest, scattering pollen as it walks around."

"It might be great having a Pokémon like that," Ash said as he took out a Pokéball, only to be stopped by Misty.

"Wait just a moment, Ash," Misty said. "I think I want to catch this Oddish."

"But why?" Ash asked. "It's not a Water Pokémon so why would you want it?"

"It's cute," Misty replied, giving him a smile. "And besides, I might be a future Water Pokémon Trainer, but that doesn't mean that I can't have any Pokémon that isn't a Water Type. So, please~?"

Ash seemed to be hesitant. His eyes turned to the Oddish, who was oblivious to what was happening around it, and then back to Misty, who was giving him puppy eyes. He was confused on what to do now. Should he let Misty catch the Oddish or should he do it himself? It's his dream to become a Pokémon Master, and that means he has to catch all of the Pokémon. But then again, Oddish aren't a rare Pokémon so there could be more around.

 **"Just let her catch it, Ash,"** Pikachu sighed.

Seeing that his partner had allowed Misty to catch the Oddish, Ash couldn't help but agree with Pikachu and turned to his friend with a sigh. "Misty, go ahead and catch it."

Misty smiled, giving Pikachu a thumbs up as she took out Starmie's Pokéball. Turning back to the Oddish, Misty tosses her Pokéball and from it, Starmie emerged.

When it did, Starmie landed in front of the Oddish, blocking its path. "Water Gun, now!"

Starmie lowered its head and a spray of water erupted, splashing onto the Oddish as it was knocked into the air by the attack. Once Starmie's Water Gun attack ended, the Weed Pokémon fell back onto the ground.

"I'm surprised it isn't fighting back," said Brock with his hand resting on his chin. "Could this Oddish be a low leveled one?"

"As long as it's cute, I don't mind," Misty replied before giving Starmie its next command. "Starmie, Tackle it!"

The Mysterious Pokémon complied to Misty's command, lifting itself off the ground and rotating rapidly as it crashed into Oddish, sending the Weed Pokémon tumbling backwards until it stopped, already weakened to the point that it almost fainted.

Misty smiled as she brought out an empty Pokéball. "Nice job, Starmie. Now it's time to capture it. Pokéball, go!"

As she tossed her Pokéball, Misty couldn't help but feel a sense of pride for finally capturing another Pokémon. However, it was just for a moment. In an instant, her Pokéball was knocked away, straying it from Oddish.

Then, a new Pokémon had jumped out from behind Oddish, landing in front of it. This Pokémon in particular, was a small, quadruped Pokémon that had bluish-green skin with darker green patches. It had red eyes with white pupils and pointed, ear-like structures on top of its head. Its snout was short and blunt, and it had a wide mouth. Each of its thick legs ended with three sharp claws. On its back was a green plant bulb.

Seeing this Pokémon, Ash couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise. "No way. Is that a Bulbasaur?!" Ash immediately took out his Pokédex and pointed it towards the Pokémon, where it soon displayed an image of Bulbasaur.

"Bulbasaur. It bears the seed of a plant on its back from birth. The seed slowly develops. Researchers are unsure whether to classify Bulbasaur as a plant or animal. Bulbasaur are extremely calm and very difficult to capture in the wild."

Bulbasaur growled as it looked at Starmie, lunging towards the Mysterious Pokémon and tackling it.

"Starmie!" Misty cried as the Mysterious Pokémon landed in front of her.

Ash smirked. "Now it's my turn to try." Handing Arcus to Brock, Ash took out Pidgeotto's Pokéball and tossed it out, allowing the Bird Pokémon to emerge from the Pokéball. "Since Flying Types are stronger than Grass Types, I'm certain that we'll beat that Bulbasaur, Pidgeotto! Now use Wing Attack!"

Pidgeotto nodded, taking to the sky as his wings begin to glow. Then, he dived down towards the Seed Pokémon. However, the Bird Pokémon blinked in surprise when Bulbasaur had grabbed his wings using its vines, stopping him from attacking.

"What?" Ash exclaimed, clearly dumbfounded by what Bulbasaur had done. "Can it even do that?"

"Apparently so," Brock replied.

Bulbasaur slammed the Bird Pokémon down and removed its vines from him before turning to Oddish, giving it a grunt that the Weed Pokémon nodded to before turning away and running off.

"Hey, wait!" Misty cried as she tried to chase after the Oddish, only to be struck on her arm by Bulbasaur's vines. Misty winced in pain from the vine and she flinched, clutching her injured arm tightly as the Bulbasaur ran off to follow Oddish.

Ash made his way over to Pidgeotto, who gave him a saddened look. Ash gave him a reassuring smile as he patted the Bird Pokémon's head. "You did your best, Pidgeotto. Thanks." Ash took out Pidgeotto's Pokéball and a red light shot out from it, engulfing Pidgeotto as he was reabsorbed into the capsule. Then, Ash tucked the Pokéball safely on his belt and gritted his teeth. "That Bulbasaur is strong, I WILL catch it!" As Brock handed Arcus back to him, Ash smiled. "Let's go catch that Bulbasaur."

* * *

After following the trail of the Bulbasaur by using Pikachu's nose, the group soon reached a wooden bridge, which led to the other side of a raging river that was below it.

Misty gave the bridge one long look before turning to Ash with a worried look. "Do you think it's safe to cross this bridge?"

"Of course!" Ash nodded as he stepped onto it. "I bet there are a lot of Bulbasaur in this place!"

"But what is this place anyway?" Misty asked.

Brock checked his map and frowned. "I can't find this bridge on my map at all."

Just then, a strong wind blew at them, rocking the bridge wildly as one of the ropes supporting it snapped, causing the entire bridge to turn sideways. Then, the group slipped and they fell. Ash, using his free hand, grabbed onto the remaining rope while clutching Arcus tightly as Pikachu clung onto his backpack.

Misty wasn't able to grab the rope, but she went for an alternative. As she slipped off the bridge, she grabbed onto Ash's right leg and held it tightly.

However, Brock wasn't so lucky. His hands had slipped from the bridge, causing him to fall off as he dropped onto the raging river.

"Brock!" Both Ash and Misty cried.

As soon as Brock crashed into the water, Misty turned to Ash. "You have to pull us back up, Ash!"

"I…can't!" Ash said. "My arm's losing strength."

"Yes you can!" Misty cried. "Just hand Arcus over to Beedrill so you can pull us back up!"

On cue, Beedrill hovered beside Ash, using his stingers to gently lift Arcus out of Ash's arm and flew over to the other side of the bridge with the Baby Pokémon.

Now with Arcus safe, Ash grabbed the rope with his other hand and pulled himself up. Of course, with his own weight combined with Misty's and Pikachu's, he had a hard time doing so. But eventually, he managed to pull Misty up to the bridge where they both held the rope tightly and slowly made their way to the safety of the other side.

Once they were on the other side, the two humans and Pikachu collapsed, clearly exhausted.

"I'm totally wiped out…" Ash panted as he picked up Arcus.

"We can't rest now, we have to find Brock!" Misty replied as she got back up. Then, she pulled out a Pokéball and tossed it towards the water. From it, Goldeen emerged and splashed into the water before surfacing to look at Misty. "Goldeen, we need you to find Brock. He's probably been swept by the current!"

The Goldfish Pokémon nodded and dived into the water, drifting on the current as it went downstream.

Ash got up as well, taking out Butterfree's Pokéball and tossing it out. The Butterfly Pokémon emerged from the capsule and turned his attention to Ash, who told him the same thing. Butterfree gave him a nod and took off towards the end of the river, searching for Brock from the air.

Misty then grabbed Ash's collar and dragged him. "Come on, Ash. We have to follow them too."

"Alright, alright. Just let go of me, will ya?" Ash said as Misty removed her hand from his collar and continued walking on ahead while Ash turned to Beedrill, who eyed him with caution. "Beedrill, I know I almost risked Arcus life on the bridge. So for now, I'm thinking that you should hold onto him. At least until we get out of this place, wherever this is."

Beedrill seemed surprised by Ash, but he shrugged it off and picked up Arcus from Ash's hands. The boy gave him a smile and turned, running off to catch up with Misty while Beedrill followed them from behind.

Soon, the group made their way down to the middle of the stream where the river was calmer, and there, they were greeted by Goldeen and Butterfree, who both shook their head sadly.

Ash sighed as he took out Butterfree's Pokéball. "You did your best, Butterfree. Take a good rest." A red glow shot out from the capsule, reabsorbing Butterfree into it while Misty did the same for Goldeen.

"Where do you think Brock might have washed up?" Misty asked.

Ash shrugged and continued walking on. "Who knows? Let's just keep walking. Maybe we'll find him soon."

However, just as they took a few steps, Misty had accidentally triggered a trap. A net that was hidden underneath them sprung up, trapping them within it while Beedrill and Arcus were in the clear.

* * *

 **Somewhere farther away from the group:**

"The village we're looking for should be on the other side of that bridge," Jessie spoke as she and her team made their way towards the bridge that Ash and his friends had just crossed.

"Let's just hope the rumors are true about that hidden Pokémon village we've heard about," James replied.

Meowth grinned. "And if it's real, Team Rocket will have something planned for it. Imagine all the Pokémon we'll be able to nab and give to the boss."

Both Jessie and James smiled, imagining the same thing that Meowth was thinking of. Then, in unison, they both cried. "Let's find it!"

* * *

Misty sighed as she leaned against the net. "Hey, Ash. What do you think happened to Brock? You know, if he didn't get washed up."

"Maybe the river far away, all the way to the ocean," Ash replied. "Then some pirates spotted him and brought him aboard their ship and one of the pirates has a wooden leg."

Both Pikachu and Misty sighed at the boy. "You have a crazy imagination, Ash."

 **"She's right, you know."**

"Geez, I've been gone for nearly an hour and I find you three already stuck in a trap."

Hearing that familiar voice, the three looked down from the net and they gasped when they saw the Pokémon Breeder standing below them with a smile on his face.

"Brock! You're alive!" Ash cried out in joy.

Brock chuckled as he made his way towards the tree where the net's rope was at. "Of course I'm alive. What do you expect? Me being a pirate? Anyway, I'll undo the trap's knot. So you guys will be down in seconds."

Once the knot was undone, Brock slowly lowered them down.

"We've been looking all over for you," Misty said as she stepped out of the net, followed by Ash and Pikachu.

"We saw you fall into the river, but we have no idea what happened to you afterwards," Ash continued. "So what happened to you?"

Brock raised his hand and placed it on the back of his head. "Well, while I was being washed away in the rapids, I was trying desperately to grab the land but I couldn't. So there I was, keeping myself up on the surface as long as I can, but that's when a hand grabbed me."

A blush began forming on the Breeder's cheeks. "That hand belonged to a beautiful girl. Her voice filled my ears and I almost melted away blissfully. But I resisted the urge to do that since you know, I was still in the water."

"A beautiful girl, huh?" Ash said. "That's even better than pirates. Unless of course, she was really a pirate in disguise."

"Then maybe it's time to get a reality check," Misty sighed.

Brock laughed as he slapped the back of Ash's back. "Come on, I'll bring you guys to where she's at. It's not too far from here so we'll make it there in just minutes."

* * *

After walking for at least a few minutes, the group soon arrived at a small lake, where a wooden cabin stood by the edge of the lake. Pokémon of various types could also be seen by them as well when they walked towards the place.

Brock cleared his throat as he approached a blue-haired woman who was sitting together with a group of Pokémon. The woman turned around and smiled when she saw Brock, who gestured to his friends. "Melanie, this is Ash and Misty."

The woman approached them and smiled. "So you're the friends that Brock's been telling me about."

Misty smiled. "That's right! And wow, do all those Pokémon belong to you?"

Melanie turned around to the Pokémon she was feeding moments ago and then back to Misty. "Oh no. They're not my Pokémon, silly."

Brock then approached a Paras and gently patted its head. "This is a place where Pokémon are able to rest and relax. You see, when Pokémon get abandoned or injured, they can come here. Melanie takes care of them until they feel better. After that, they leave."

"I see," Misty said. "So this is a Pokémon Center and Melanie's the Pokémon Doctor."

Melanie giggled as she shook her head. "That's not really true. I'm unqualified to be a Pokémon Doctor."

"This is more like a Pokémon health spa," Brock added on.

Melanie gave Brock a nod as she continued. "Here, the Pokémon don't battle with one another. They relax and enjoy themselves until they recover."

"That sounds amazing," Ash said.

Brock nodded to the boy and spoke once more. "Melanie collects plants to use for medicine. She knows all about which plants can help a Pokémon feel better or grow stronger when it's too weak."

"So you and Melanie both love to take care of Pokémon," Ash stated.

"Yes, we do," Brock replied, smiling in Melanie's direction where she was holding the same Paras from before in her arms with a smile on her face. Then, Brock's cheeks began feeling a sensation, a mild burning sensation which Misty realized sooner than the Breeder himself.

A grin formed on Misty's face as she faced the Breeder. "Well, it looks to me that there's something else that Brock might love."

This time, the Breeder's face had turned completely red and he reached out to Misty's mouth, covering it. "Be quiet! She might hear you!"

Beedrill, on the other hand, rolled his eyes as he flew towards the water and gently laid Arcus down next to the lake while he took a sip at the water. Then, he turned to the Baby Pokémon and smiled as he sat down next to him. "Rest assure, Arcus. You'll be safe while I'm here."

Just then, Pikachu sat beside Beedrill, giving the startled Pokémon a smile before the Mouse Pokémon patted his back while turning off the PokéTranslator in his ear. "You've been up for a long time, Beedrill. You should get some sleep."

"My duty is to…"

"I know, I know," Pikachu interrupted. "Your duty is to protect Arcus. But we're safe here. Besides, all these Pokémon here aren't a threat to him. Remember, we are all the creations of Arceus, and his son is as important as he is. I'm sure they all know that."

Beedrill was hesitant for a moment. The Mouse Pokémon was right, though. Ever since that accident at Mt. Moon, he had barely slept, worrying that Arcus might end up in the hands of Team Rocket and they almost succeeded in capturing Arcus as well in the Cerulean Gym if Ash's Beedrill and Pidgeotto weren't there to stop Meowth. He was tired. His eyes were already closing just from thinking about it.

"You're…right, Pikachu," Beedrill replied. "I guess I'll rest as well. But promise me that you'll watch over Arcus or wake me up when there's trouble."

"You can count on me, Beedrill," Pikachu replied as he watched the Poison Bee Pokémon lie down, curled up around the Baby Pokémon. Then, his eyes closed and Beedrill was soon fast asleep while Pikachu gazed out at the lake.

Back to the humans, Ash had just remembered about the trap and he spoke. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about it. I wonder who put that net up in the tree."

Hearing that, Melanie's face saddened. "I'm sorry. I was the one who set the trap. I wanted to catch any Pokémon Trainers before they can reach the village. Since you got caught, I guess it really works."

"But why would you do that?" Misty asked.

"Because there are so many injured Pokémon here, I have to protect them," Melanie replied.

"Was the bridge a trap too?" Ash asked.

Melanie simply nodded. "Yes. I know it was a dangerous one but it's a more effective way of keeping Trainers away from here. With a wobbly bridge like that, they're just lucky that they could cross over it. But if they had fallen into the river, I would be there to rescue them, like how I rescued Brock."

* * *

 **At the broken bridge:**

"Uh…Jessie?" James spoke as he stared at the bridge. "Are you sure you want to cross that?"

The pink-haired woman scoffed. "Of course we are crossing it, you nitwit! A broken bridge isn't going to stop Team Rocket from getting those Pokémon!"

"But it looks…dangerous," Meowth whimpered as he felt his knees shaking in fear. "Couldn't we just find a different path to cross?"

Jessie groaned. "There are no other ways. This is the only bridge that leads to the other side. Unless you plan on swimming in the rapids."

"I'll take my chances with the bridge than the river," James replied instantly when he saw Jessie's eyes staring right at him.

"What about you, Meowth?" Jessie growled, turning back to the Scratch Cat Pokémon, who swallowed hard as he approached the bridge.

"I'm with James on that."

Jessie smirked as she walked over to the bridge. "I'll go first." As she placed one foot on the bridge, she grabbed the rope and lifted her body off the ground as she balanced herself on the bridge. "This isn't so hard. Come on, boys. Let's get moving!"

As she slowly made her way over to the other side, James got onto the bridge, followed by Meowth. "Just remember this, boys. Across this bridge lies a lifetime supply of Pokémon."

"But how are we going to carry them all?" James asked.

"We didn't really thought that one through, did we?" Meowth muttered.

Suddenly, the rope snapped. Moments later, the bridge swung forward, hitting the rock wall of the side of the rapids. Team Rocket lost their grip on the rope and soon, they found themselves being carried away by the water.

* * *

"I'd promise Melanie that we wouldn't capture any of the Pokémon here, so I hope you guys don't get any funny ideas."

Misty smirked at the Breeder. "Of course we won't. But did you seal the promise with a kiss?" She was then met with a fist to the head by a blushing Brock which she found hilarious to watch. "So I guess you really like her, don't you Brock?" And again, she was knocked on the head.

Ash simply sighed. "I guess I can keep your promise. But are those traps of hers tough enough to keep robbers away from this place? I mean, you have to be pretty stupid to fall for them."

"Hey!" Misty cried. "Are you calling us stupid?"

"No, I'm calling you!" Ash retorted. "It was you who got us trapped in that net in the first place. If you hadn't tripped, we wouldn't have been caught in it."

Misty balled her hands into fists as she stepped towards Ash with her jaw clenched. "Why you little…"

* * *

 **Back with Team Rocket:**

James coughed as he pulled himself out of the water. "Next time we go for a swim, I'll stay out."

"Oh man up, James," Jessie said as she twisted her hair to remove the water from it. "We have to keep on moving. We might have lost our only option of escaping, but we can still catch ourselves some Pokémon. So get up and start walking!"

Meowth sighed as he shook himself to get rid of the water. "Let's just get some of those Pokémon and get out. It's going to take hours before my fur dries!"

"You boys are so weak!" Jessie cried, just before the three of them fell into a pitfall. "What the?! Where did this come from?!"

"How would I know?" Meowth replied. "This trap was well hidden, if I say so."

"Oh shut it!" Jessie said. "Let's get out of here and move on! And if we find whoever made this trap, I'll make sure that person gets the same treatment."

* * *

Pikachu smiled when he felt Ash's hand on his head. "How ya doing, buddy? Is Beedrill alright?"

Turning his PokéTranslator on, Pikachu turned to Ash and spoke. **"He's alright. Beedrill's just tired and he needs to sleep. He's been up for a long time to make sure that Arcus was out of harm's way."**

"I understand," Ash replied as he sat beside the Mouse Pokémon. "So, do you know why he's protecting Arcus so much?"

Pikachu nodded. **"I do. But that's for him to tell you and not me.** **You'll have to ask him yourself, when you get the chance, though. I mean, Beedrill hates humans. So it would be hard to get him talking to you."**

"But why does he?"

 **"Beedrill has seen many Pokémon being left behind in the Viridian Forest before he followed us. Well, he followed Arcus to be precise. But Beedrill feels that all humans are the same. They abandon their Pokémon if they aren't strong enough for the Trainers."**

"But he knows that I'm not like that, right?"

Pikachu shook his head. **"He can't decide that about you since he's just been with us for a week. He needs more time to get use to you and the others. Until then, I bet he won't bother talking to you unless it's about Arcus."**

Hearing that, Ash lowered his head. "Oh."

"Hey! It's rude to tackle people!" Misty yelled, gaining Ash's attention as he turned around, only to see Bulbasaur glaring at Misty.

Ash quickly stepped in and turned to Bulbasaur. "What's the big idea, Bulbasaur? Misty's not doing anything wrong here. She isn't going to steal any of the Pokémon here!" Bulbasaur simply growled at him and Ash scoffed. "I know. You're just mad because you thought I was going to beat you but you chickened out and ran off. So let's see how tough you really are!"

Just then, Melanie stopped in between them. "Please, Ash! Bulbasaur is only trying to protect Oddish. It has volunteered to guard the whole village." This new information gave Ash and Misty a surprise as their jaws dropped. "It protects all the injured Pokémon whenever anyone tries to attack them. Bulbasaur is the bravest and most loyal Pokémon I know."

"So that's why it attacked me," Misty said. "It must have thought that I was taking Oddish from the village."

Bulbasaur growled again as it slammed its head against Ash's leg, trying to push the boy away.

"Now what?"

Melanie noticed this and sighed. "Bulbasaur doesn't like Pokémon Trainers. He wants you to leave the village now."

"But we're not here to capture Pokémon," Misty said. "We want to help you."

"Bulbasaur was worried about the other Pokémon so it decided to be the village's bodyguard," Ash muttered to himself. "Now that's what I call bravery. And he's worried about the others like how Beedrill is worried about Arcus, only Bulbasaur's reason for it is clear to me. If only I know what to do now…"

Just then, a thick dark green smoke appeared, covering the entire village within seconds.

"What the?!" Brock exclaimed as he dropped the pail of water in his hand. "Where did this smoke come from?"

A Staryu that was next to Brock looked around anxiously before it jumped into the water, attempting to escape a danger it was sensing.

Around the village, the rest of the Pokémon panicked, not knowing what to do as a hiss could be heard as the Pokémon disappeared one by one. And when the Paras from before was caught, Pikachu saw a pair of hands which belonged to people that he knew was bad news.

 **"Ash! I think I know who's behind this."**

"Who is it, Pikachu?" Ash asked as he covered his mouth.

 **"It's Team Rocket! They're trying to capture all the Pokémon while using the smoke as cover!"**

"Why those sneaky…"

Melanie blinked in surprise. "Who are this Team Rocket?"

"They're a bunch of bad people, Melanie," Misty replied. "They steal Pokémon from others to benefit themselves and I guess they're trying to steal all of the Pokémon from this village."

"Pikachu! Where are you going?" Ash cried as he watched Pikachu run into the smoke.

 **"I have to warn Beedrill!"** Pikachu replied as he disappeared into the smoke.

Ash sighed. "Then I guess we'll have to get rid of the smoke first. Butterfree, Pidgeotto, Zubat, come out and use Whirlwind!" As soon as all three of the Pokémon mentioned were called out, they began flapping their wings as fast as they could, causing the dark smoke to be blown away from the area and fade away.

That was when they saw Team Rocket, with a net filled with the Pokémon that they caught.

"Looks like we've been caught," James said.

"There you are, Team Rocket!" Ash cried as he pointed his index finger at them. "You can't steal those Pokémon! They're all injured and they don't belong to you!"

"We can do whatever we want, brat," Jessie replied with a smirk. "We're Team Rocket, after all!"

Melanie narrowed her eyes at them as she spoke. "So these are Team Rocket."

"To protect the world from devastation..."

"To unite all people within our nation..."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love..."

"To extend our reach to the stars above..."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!"

Ash frowned. "Looks like they won't stop saying that dumb motto of theirs. Alright, guys! Let's get those Pokémon back! Pidgeotto, Quick Attack! Butterfree, Sleep Powder! Zubat, Bite!"

James simply smirked. "Koffing, Sludge!"

As all three of Ash's Pokémon lunged at Koffing, the Poison Gas Pokémon spewed sludge at them, only managing to hit Butterfree as Zubat bore its fangs at Koffing while Pidgeotto emitted a white glow as he accelerated.

"Ekans, use Wrap on Pidgeotto!" Jessie commanded.

Ekans complied, slithering its way towards the attacking Bird Pokémon. Then, in a split second, Ekans leapt into the air and curled its body as Pidgeotto's beak went through the space in between Ekans's body, which bound the Bird Pokémon's beak while Ekans continued wrapping around his body.

Once Pidgeotto has fallen, Koffing fired another sludge at Zubat, who had no chance of dodging. Zubat took a direct hit from the attack and it hissed out in pain as Koffing proceeded to slam into it, sending the Bat Pokémon crashing in front of Ash.

"Butterfree, Sleep Powder on Ekans. Zubat, get up and use Leech Life!"

Both the mentioned Pokémon got up and removed the sludge from their bodies as they lunged at Ekans. Butterfree's wings began releasing sparkling blue powder, which landed on Ekans's body that caused it to feel sleepy.

Following that, Zubat bore its fangs as it bit down onto Ekans, draining its energy as Zubat replenishes its own.

Ash smiled. "Pidgeotto, break free and use Quick Attack on Koffing!"

Pidgeotto complied. With all his might, the Bird Pokémon spread his wings, breaking free from Ekans as he flew into the air and dived down at Koffing, knocking the Poison Gas Pokémon out before its Trainer could say anything else.

"Koffing!" James cried as he ran over to his Pokémon.

"Ekans, my darling!" Jessie gasped.

The two Pokémon were weakened, but they weren't defeated yet. As they got up, their Trainers smiled proudly at them as they gave their Pokémon new commands.

"Use Bite on that pesky Bat Pokémon!" Jessie called out to her Ekans.

"Tackle that annoying Butterfree, Koffing!" James said.

As the two Pokémon proceeded to attack their targets, Meowth made his way towards Pikachu, who was trying to wake Beedrill up. "That Pikachu won't know what hit him once he tastes my Fury Swipes."

Meowth crept closer to the Mouse Pokémon and he unsheathed his claws. Once he was behind Pikachu, he pounced. "Scram, mouse!" Before Pikachu could realize it, Meowth had slashed his claws at Pikachu's right cheek, which caused Pikachu to yelp in pain as he was knocked aside by the Scratch Cat Pokémon.

"Now that the Mouse Pokémon is down, I guess this is my chance to…huh?"

He couldn't believe his own eyes when he saw it. Beedrill was awake and he looked energized. Behind the Poison Bee Pokémon was the Baby Pokémon, who was turning and shifting himself as he slept. Meowth felt his fear rise as Beedrill raised his front stingers up.

"Looks like we meet again, Meowth," Beedrill growled.

Meowth smiled nervously as he waved his paw at him. "Nice to see you too, Beedrill. So what have you been up to?"

"You better start running."

"Got it," Meowth replied as he turned around and screamed, running away from the enraged Poison Bee Pokémon who furiously thrusts his stingers at the Scratch Cat Pokémon. "Stop it! Stop it! Get this Bug Pokémon away from me!"

Ash noticed this and he took out his Beedrill's Pokéball. "Beedrill, help your friend out!" As soon as his own Beedrill was out, it flew towards Meowth and stood directly in front of him, scaring the Scratch Cat Pokémon as he stopped in his path.

"Great, now there's two of them!" Meowth groaned as he lashed out at Ash's Beedrill with his Fury Swipes, only to be blocked by its stingers.

Ash ran over to Pikachu and picked him up. "Pikachu, are you alright, pal?"

Pikachu placed a hand on his bruised cheek and winced at the pain. **"I'll be find, Ash. What about Arcus? How is he?"**

"Let me check," Ash replied as he gently laid Pikachu down and turned his attention to the Baby Pokémon. Ash sighed in relief when he saw that Arcus had zero injuries and he picked up the Baby Pokémon.

However, Ash's relief had changed when he saw Arcus's eyes opened. Ash's body froze in shock, not sure of what he should be doing now that the he was awake. "Uh…good afternoon?"

Arcus's eyes flashed for a moment and a white energy began emitting from his body as Ash stood up with him in his arms. Then, the energy dispersed, spreading all over the area, which caused all of the fighting Pokémon to halt their actions.

"What?" Both Jessie and James said as they looked at their frozen Pokémon. "What's gotten into them?"

Meowth was just as stunned as they were, unsure of what was going on. "What just happened to us?"

"The Son of Arceus has awaken," Beedrill replied as he dropped to the ground while the mark on his chest glowed.

Brock and Misty approached Ash and the Breeder was the first to speak. "What was that?"

"I have no idea," Ash replied. "The first thing I knew was that Arcus just woke up and then he started glowing. Then this happened."

"Wait, he's awake?!" Misty exclaimed.

Pikachu soon got up and he approached the humans, who smiled at him. **"Ash, I'm feeling much better now. What do you want me to do?"**

Ash smiled at his partner. "Pikachu! When did you heal yourself? Never mind that. For now, use Thunderbolt on Team Rocket!"

Pikachu grinned as he turned around to Team Rocket, who were now turning around to run away. However, they were too late. In seconds, Pikachu released his Thunderbolt attack, launching a lightning bolt that struck them and in moments, they were flung into the air.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" Meowth cried as they disappeared into the sky.

Melanie quickly ran over to the Pokémon and she removed the net, freeing them from it. "Are you all okay?" The Pokémon all nodded to her and she sighed in relief before turning to Ash. "Thanks for saving them from Team Rocket, Ash."

"It was nothing," Ash replied. "If Arcus hadn't done what he just did, I wasn't sure if we could beat them though."

Bulbasaur looked up at Ash with narrowed eyes. The boy had reacted much quicker than it had. He had saved the village while it had just stood there in shock. If it wasn't for him, who knows what they might have done. Perhaps he was wrong about him.

Melanie noticed Bulbasaur's look and smiled as she turned to Ash. "Ash, don't you think that Bulbasaur would make a great addition to your team?"

Hearing this, both Ash and Bulbasaur looked at her with shocked expressions. Ash shook his head. "No, Melanie. Bulbasaur is needed by the village. I can't just take him from the place. What would happen if Team Rocket comes back?"

"I think Bulbasaur should go with you," Melanie replied as she picked up the Seed Pokémon. "Bulbasaur stayed here to protect the weaker Pokémon but this village is too small. The bulb on its back can't grow. It needs to go out into the world and I know you would take good care of it. Please do me this favor, Ash. Please take Bulbasaur with you on your journey. He'll be a good companion."

"But what will happen to the village without Bulbasaur? Who's going to protect you and the Pokémon?" Misty asked.

"It's true that Bulbasaur has done a great job, maybe too great a job," Melanie replied. "You see, these Pokémon shouldn't remain in this village forever and ever. After they recover, the Pokémon are supposed to leave but since it's too safe here, none of them want to go away. They don't want to return to the outside world. But I think it is important for all of them to return to the wild. That's where they belong and hopefully someday, they'll find good Trainers like you."

As she placed Bulbasaur down, she continued. "Of course, taking care of sick Pokémon will always be my mission. But I know my job isn't finish until they return to where they came from. So it's the day when the Pokémon that is the most rewarding to me. So you see, it's time for Bulbasaur to leave here. Please take it with you. I promise that it won't be a burden to you. It has a lot of growing to do. I want it to be in a place where it can grow strong and happy. I'm sure that place is with you, Ash."

"It really depends on what Bulbasaur wants," Ash replied.

In response, Bulbasaur smiled at Melanie as it spoke to her. "Bulba, Bulbasaur!"

"What's it saying?" Ash asked.

Pikachu stepped forward and translated it for him. **"Bulbasaur says that he agrees with Melanie. But he wants to battle us first before he joins us."**

"Is that true, Bulbasaur?" Ash asked as he gave the Seed Pokémon a smile, where he received a nod from him. "Alright then, let's battle!"

Hearing this, Pidgeotto squawked as he flew over to Ash.

"So you want to have a rematch with Bulbasaur, don't you?" The Bird Pokémon gave him a nod and Ash nodded back to him. "Alright then, Pidgeotto, let's have a battle with Bulbasaur!"

Instinctively, Arcus leapt out of Ash's arms and Beedrill landed on the ground to stand by his side.

With Arcus in Beedrill's care, Ash turned back to Pidgeotto and spoke. "Let's get this started! Pidgeotto, fly up now and use Whirlwind!"

The Bird Pokémon flapped his wings, lifting himself into the air as he began creating his Whirlwind attack, which caused a strong breeze to push Bulbasaur back. In response, Bulbasaur dug his claws into the ground to keep him there. Then, his vines emerged as they struck Pidgeotto.

His Whirlwind attack stopped instantly and Bulbasaur began his counterattack, tackling Pidgeotto.

After being knocked down, Pidgeotto flapped his wings to lift himself up. Then, he turned to Ash who gave him his next command. "Pidgeotto, use Quick Attack!" The Bird Pokémon complied and he dived down at Bulbasaur, emitting a white glow around his body.

The attack was unexpected and Bulbasaur was hit by it. The Seed Pokémon was knocked on his back and Pidgeotto flew up into the air once more as Bulbasaur's vines emerged to lift himself off the ground.

"Pidgeotto, Wing Attack!"

Pidgeotto dived down once more as his wings began to glow. Bulbasaur smirked, knowing that he had beaten the Bird Pokémon before in their last match because of this move. Just like before, Bulbasaur's vines wrapped around the Bird Pokémon's wings.

However, a smirk formed on Ash's face. "Pidgeotto, spin around! Pull Bulbasaur up into the air and use Quick Attack!" Pidgeotto followed Ash's commands, rotating his entire body as Bulbasaur was pulled towards him.

Once Bulbasaur was in the air, his vines loosened and Pidgeotto instantly broke free before diving towards him as his body emitted a white glow. Bulbasaur's eyes widened as he crossed his vines to defend himself, only to be knocked back towards the ground from the impact of the attack.

"Again, Quick Attack!"

Pidgeotto nodded to his Trainer as he folded his wings and dived down. Before Bulbasaur could do anything else, the Bird Pokémon crashed into him, causing the ground to crack underneath him as a small crater formed.

The Bird Pokémon emerged from it, exhausted as he collapsed on his back and panted while Ash approached him. "Good job, Pidgeotto. I'll take it from here." As he brought out an empty Pokéball, he gently tapped it on the Seed Pokémon's head.

As soon as the capsule tapped his head, Bulbasaur was absorbed into it by a red glow. The Pokéball shook for a few times as a red light blinked before it stopped completely, signaling that Ash had caught Bulbasaur. Ash smiled as he walked over to the Pokéball and picked it up. "We did it, Pidgeotto! We caught Bulbasaur!"

The Bird Pokémon smiled, knowing that he had finally defeated the Seed Pokémon after being beaten by him. Then, he was reabsorbed into his own Pokéball. "Take a good rest, Pidgeotto. You deserve it!" As he tucked the Bird Pokémon's capsule under his belt, he returned the rest to theirs before he raised Bulbasaur's up. "Welcome to the team, buddy!"

* * *

After being released from the Pokéball, Bulbasaur was approached by Melanie and the rest of the Pokémon. "Take care of yourself, Bulbasaur," Melanie said as she gave the Seed Pokémon a hug. "And have a safe trip."

"I promise to take good care of him, don't worry," Ash said as he patted Bulbasaur's head.

Melanie nodded. "Thank you, Ash. And thank you, Bulbasaur. You've been here with us for so long and you've protected us as well. I hope you'll do the same while you're with Ash." Bulbasaur simply nodded to her.

"Melanie, I've been thinking," Brock spoke as he approached her. "Since is leaving, I wouldn't mind staying and helping you out."

"It's very kind of you," Melanie replied. "But we'll be okay. I wouldn't want to keep you from all of your wonderful adventures."

Hearing that, Brock felt his heart sank. "Oh…I guess you're right."

"Good bye, all of you," Melanie said as she watched them leave. "I hope you'll have a wonderful time with Bulbasaur!"

Bulbasaur gave them one last glance before turning back. His eyes shut themselves, not wanting to show his tears. Then, he felt Ash's hand on his back. "Don't worry, Bulbasaur, you'll see your friends again. As soon as they feel better, they'll leave this village too."

The Seed Pokémon gave him a smile as they walked along the path. Perhaps staying with the boy was a good idea after all.

"So, what did Melanie say? Huh?" Misty teased as she leaned closer to Brock. "Did you kiss her good bye?"

"That's enough of the questions! Will you please stop embarrassing me already?" Brock cried as he began to blush again.

"Did I miss something? What's going on?" Ash asked as he watched the two quarrel with each other. Then, he turned to Arcus, who was walking beside his legs with Beedrill hovering above him. Ash smiled as he bent down to speak to the Baby Pokémon. "At least you're finally awake, little guy. Hope you'll enjoy staying with us too!"

Arcus tilted his head on confusion at the boy's words but smiled anyway as he let out a soft grunt before he was picked up by Ash while the made their way down the path to their next stop, Vermilion City.

* * *

 **Me: So how was that? After a long hiatus, I feel like I'm getting rusty. Sorry if it was bad, folks!**

 **Arcus: Look on the bright side, at least I'm finally awaken. But I do feel as if my personality will change a lot in this rewrite.**

 **Me: That's because it will change, majorly if I might add. Anyway, I won't spoil on that so you readers will have to wait. But now that Arcus is up and ready, I'll introduce the next OC after Vermilion City is done. Which of course will be Angel. So get ready, girl!**

 **Angel: *Smiles* You don't have to tell me twice!**


	11. Chapter 9: Kanto Starters part 2

**Chapter 9: Kanto Starters part 2**

 **Me: And~ we're back with the newest chapter of the story and the second part of the Kanto Starters!**

 **Arcus: *Claps hands* Wonderful, so let's get on to the disclaimer, shall we?**

 **Me: Yes, we shall.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own Pokémon but I do own Arcus and any other OCs in this story.**

* * *

 **Response to Guest reviews:**

 **Guest: Arcus won't be caught by Ash. He's just like a companion. But he is going to be Ash's friend like Pikachu. And yeah, they would be inseparable, but in case you haven't read the original, Arcus will be busy as well, with his own journey once he's evolved.**

 **Guest: I would be updating faster, if school wasn't such a pain...**

* * *

With Bulbasaur now in the team with them, Ash and his friends continued on their way towards Vermilion City. However, they were still currently lost on their way to said city.

Ash sighed as he pulled out a pair of binoculars from his backpack as he placed Pikachu and Arcus down on a tree trunk. The Mouse Pokémon gave the boy a look of confusion while the Baby Pokémon blinked and tilted his head as the two watched Ash look around.

Then, the boy let out a groan as he lowered his binoculars. "There's nothing but Spearow around here!"

Misty sighed from behind him as she turned her head towards him. "Well that's the least of our worries, is it?"

"Just because we're lost, it doesn't mean that I have to stop catching all the Pokémon I can, does it?" Ash asked.

"Of course not, enjoy yourself," Misty replied sarcastically, clearly annoyed by the boy before she let out a tired sigh. "I just can't go another step further. We've been looking for Vermilion City for ten whole days!"

Brock then approached her and pointed towards her back. "Uh, Misty? There's something on your back."

Misty instantly felt a shiver ran through her back as she leapt off the ground and shook herself in fear before clinging on to Ash's back as she screamed in panic. "Get it away!"

The Pokémon Breeder when over to the object that had dropped from Misty's back and when he picked it up, he burst out in laughter. "Oh, sorry! It was just a piece of grass!"

However, that wasn't as amusing as it was to Misty. Her face flushed in embarrassment as she got off Ash's back and walked over to Brock. Then, before the Breeder knew it, Misty had raised her leg up and swung it at him, hitting him right on the face.

"Where are we?!" Misty yelled.

The map, that used to be on Brock's hand, dropped onto Ash's and he stared at it before replying to her. "According to the map, we're right in the middle of nowhere. But it looks like we're close to the route that leads to Vermilion City."

Hearing that, Misty's expression made a dramatic change as she turned to face Ash with a look of hope. "Does this trail lead to that route?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah. If we keep on following this path, we might be able to reach it after passing a nearby Pokémon Center."

Misty smiled at this and she quickly picked up her backpack and turns around before she runs off. "Alright! Now let's get this show on the road!"

"Hey, Misty! Wait up!" Ash cried as he picked up Arcus while Pikachu jumped onto his back. Following him from behind was Beedrill as well as Brock, who had just recovered from the kick he was given.

However, after a while, Misty soon stopped when she came across a giant rock, which was taller than her. At the top of the rock was a Pokémon she had seen before. The Pokémon was a bipedal, reptilian Pokémon with a primarily orange body. Its underside from the chest down and soles were cream-colored. It had two small fangs visible in both its upper and lower jaws and blue eyes. Its arms and legs were short with four fingers and three clawed toes as well as a fire burning at the tip of the Pokémon's slender tail.

"Hey Ash, take a look at this Pokémon," Misty said as the boys appeared beside her.

Ash looked up at the Pokémon that Misty was talking about and his eyes soon glittered with joy and excitement. "No way! Is that a Charmander?!" Then, he took out his Pokédex, where it began displaying an image of the Pokémon.

"Charmander. A flame burns on the tip of its tail from birth. It is said that a Charmander dies if its flame ever goes out."

"You sure look happy to see that Charmander, Ash," Brock said with a smile as he noticed the look on Ash's face.

The boy nodded and smiled to him. "When I went to get my first Pokémon from professor Oak, I was disappointed because I couldn't get a Charmander. Now I can catch my own," Ash replied.

Misty seemed to look skeptical. "I don't know. It looks like it's in bad shape."

"Misty's right, Ash," Brock said. "Why don't you catch it so we can bring it to the Pokémon Center to get it some help?"

Ash simply grinned while he placed Arcus down. "You read my mind." As he pulled out an empty Pokéball, he tossed it at the Charmander. Once the capsule had made contact with the Lizard Pokémon's head, a red glow emitted from the Charmander as it was absorbed into the Pokéball. However, before it could even shake once, the capsule opened and the Lizard Pokémon emerged from it.

"It looks alright to me," Ash said as he turned to Brock.

"Try it again," Brock stated, which Ash nodded to as he tossed the Pokéball once more, only for the same result to happen. "This is strange," Brock said. "This Charmander is already in bad shape, it should have been captured."

"How about we try battling it?" Misty asked. "I can use any of my Water Pokémon to weaken it."

"Hold on a minute," Brock replied, raising his hand. "Take a look at its tail. There's no way that it could still have any strength to battle."

The others looked at Charmander's tail and they noticed that the flame on its tail was smaller than the one they had saw on Ash's Pokédex.

Pikachu then stepped forward and he got onto the rock to greet Charmander. "Hey there, Charmander! Is everything alright?"

The Charmander's eyes shifted to meet Pikachu and it spoke. "Tell your Trainer to go away and stop whatever he's doing. He's wasting his time. I'm not a Wild Pokémon."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Pikachu asked as he stepped closer to the Charmander.

"I'm waiting for my own Trainer to come back to pick me up," Charmander replied. "This was where he told me to stay until he comes to get me."

"I see," Pikachu said, bobbing his head up and down, understanding the situation. Then, he turned back and made his way towards Ash and the others.

"So what's the story, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

Pikachu reached for his ear, where the PokéTranslator rested, and activated it before he spoke to them. **"It looks like this Charmander's already someone else's Pokémon. He says that he's waiting for his Trainer right here since he was told to stay at this rock. That's probably why you couldn't catch him, Ash."**

"If it's waiting for its Trainer, we better not get in the way," Brock said. "It's probably best if its own Trainer takes care of it."

"I hope its Trainer comes back soon," Ash added as he picked up Arcus and the group continued on their way.

Charmander watched the group as they leave, taking in the fact that the Pokémon he saw with the humans seemed more happy than he ever was whenever he was with his Trainer. A slight doubt of hope soon came over him but Charmander shook it away as he looked up at the sky with a single thought running through his head: Where was his Trainer?

* * *

The sky soon turned darker with rain clouds appearing left and right but luckily for Ash and his friends, they had finally came into sight with the Pokémon Center that was near the route that they were heading to.

"We've made it!" Ash said. "Come on, guys. Let's get to the Center before it starts to rain."

Just as they approached the Center, the rain began and they had to run towards it while Misty glared at the boy and scoffed. "You just had to jinx it…" The boy simply gave her an apologetic smile as they continued to run towards it.

* * *

 **At Charmander's location:**

Charmander felt a drop of water fell onto his head and he looked around him, trying to find anything to use for cover. It was going to be a fight for his own survival soon. If he doesn't find anything to protect his flame, his life might be forfeited before his Trainer could reach him.

The thought of having his Trainer find his dead body gave Charmander a shiver and he got off the rock. All around him, he could see nothing but rocks and dirt. The leaves of the trees barely dropped, which saddened him as he could not reach them.

Just then, he heard a twig snap and he turned around towards the direction of the sound. He watched as a leg appear from behind the trees, then another. Finally, a body stepped out. At first, Charmander looked glad but it was short-lived as he saw that the person who had stepped out was not his Trainer, but someone else completely.

Then, Charmander felt his entire body completely froze when the person looked at him. Charmander's eyes moved to meet his and saw that the person was a male with white hair while bandage covered his left eye. The man's outfit seemed to be a white and golden trench coat as well.

The man approached Charmander, who couldn't help but take a step back in fear at the energy he felt from the man. Who was this man anyway? Charmander could see that the man was staring at him with his right eye but Charmander couldn't detect any malice, only sympathy.

Seeing that the rain was beginning to drizzle, the man raised his right arm and it began to glow, which surprised the Lizard Pokémon when he saw it as the man leapt towards the tree on his right. Then, within moments, the man had waved his glowing hand to the side and a snap could be heard from a branch.

As the man landed back on his feet, he plucked out one of the leaves which had a long stem on it. He handed it to the Lizard Pokémon who blinked in surprise. The man simply smiled as he bent down to gently pat Charmander's head. "You're still young, Charmander. You don't know who I am yet," said the man as he continued on his way to the Pokémon Center. "And unfortunately, I cannot interfere too much with the past so I cannot be of much help besides what I have already done. But I'm sure you'll make it through, Charmander."

The man was soon a few steps away from Charmander, and he felt the energy disappear. His body relaxed itself and he made his way back to the rock. He turned his head to give the man one last look, but he was no longer in sight.

Very soon, the rain became heavy and Charmander curled himself up as he held the leaf up high, protecting his flame at all cost.

* * *

When Ash and his friends made it to the Pokémon Center, they quickly got into the huge cabin and shut the door behind them. They were all exhausted from their short run, but they felt relieve now that they didn't have to stay out in the rain any longer.

The Pokémon Center they were currently in was warm, thanks to the huge fire burning in the middle of the whole place. They looked around the cabin and noticed that they were not the only ones in the Center. There were quite a handful of other people too, some gathered near the fire and the others were spread out all around the Pokémon Center.

Ash and his friends made their way to an unoccupied table and Brock sat down while Ash placed Arcus on one of the seat. "I'm going to go get a towel for Arcus and the others. Be right back!"

Misty placed her backpack down and smiled. "I'm going to check out the menu for dinner. Be right back too."

Once Ash was at the counter, he spotted a Nurse Joy standing behind it and he approached her. "Excuse me, Nurse Joy? I was hoping that you can lend me three towels. My Pokémon got drenched in the rain and I want them to get dried off as soon as I could."

Nurse Joy smiled and brought out a pair of towels. "Here you go, young man. Just be sure to return them to me once you're done."

"Sure, thanks," Ash nodded as he made his way back to Brock and his Pokémon. Ash handed Pikachu one of the towels and the other to Beedrill. "Dry yourselves off, guys. You wouldn't want to catch a cold now, would you?"

Pikachu scoffed playfully at Ash as he removed the PokéTranslator from his ear and proceeded to clean himself with the towel. Beedrill followed him, picking up the towel with his stingers and wiped the water from his head before reaching his wings.

Ash then turned to Arcus, wrapping the last towel around the Baby Pokémon and cleaning the water off Arcus's fur. "Wouldn't want you to get a cold this soon," Ash smiled, receiving a confused look from the baby Pokémon as the boy wiped the water off his tail.

Misty soon came back with a tray in her hands. Then, she placed the tray down and handed out bowls of soup to the boys. "Here's some hot soup, guys."

"Thanks, Misty!" Ash said as he picked up the bowl of soup from her hands.

Misty turned towards Brock and handed him the soup. "Have some soup, Brock." That's when she noticed a worried look on his face. "Something wrong?"

Ignoring the soup in her hand, Brock spoke. "I wonder, do you think anybody picked up that Charmander yet? What if its Trainer left it there?"

"I don't think that Charmander will wait around this long, do you?" Ash asked.

"I don't either, Ash," Brock replied with a smile. "Its Trainer must have gotten it by now."

Arcus peeked out of the towel that was wrapped around his body and his eyes darted to the window. The rain was pouring heavier than it was minutes ago and he turned to Beedrill, who laid down next to him. Beedrill seemed to notice the Baby Pokémon looking at him and he tilted his head in confusion. "Is there something wrong, Arcus?"

As expected, Arcus didn't reply. He simply looked at the Poison Bee Pokémon before turning to the window, which made Beedrill even more confused. "I don't follow, Arcus. What are you trying to tell me?"

Pikachu turned towards Beedrill and he spoke to him. "I'm sure Arcus is worried about that Charmander too. Maybe that's why he's looking out the window."

"I hope so, Pikachu," Beedrill replied. "His Trainer better bring him to safety."

Across the room, Ash and his friends heard laughter erupt and they turned towards the huge fireplace where a group of boys were gathered together with numerous Pokéballs placed on the table in front of them.

"That's a lot of Pokémon you've got there, Damian," said one of the boys.

One of the boys, who had blue hair and wore a pink shirt with a brown vest and a red scarf, known as Damian, smirked as he folded his arms and boasted about the pile of Pokéballs. "Just look at them. It's a pretty cool collection, isn't it?"

"Way cool," said one of the other boys.

A boy next to Damian then spoke up. "Hey, I thought you have a Charmander too."

The smirk on Damian's face seemed to grow wider. "Yeah, I HAD one. But that puny thing was so weak that it couldn't even beat the weakest opponents!"

"That must be a Charmander Trainer," Ash muttered.

"I don't like his attitude," Misty added.

"Yeah," Brock said. "Charmander may be weak against Water Pokémon, but if their Trainers work hard, they can be strong."

The boy from before than asked. "So what did you do to that Charmander?"

Damian eyes turned to him and he replied with a sense of pride. "I left it on some rock in the woods. That thing is so stupid! No matter what I do to it, that Charmander keeps on following me. I finally got rid of it when I promise it that I would come back for it. Guess what? It fell for it! That Charmander is still probably waiting for me!"

Ash and his friends were in shock. While Damian and his group continued laughing, Ash glared in their direction. "So it was him who left that Charmander on that rock."

"And it's still waiting for him on that rock," Misty said.

Brock stood up, catching the attention of Ash and Misty as they turned to him. He had ignored Ash when he had asked what the Breeder was doing and he stomped towards Damian. When he was close to him, Brock grabbed the blue-haired boy by the collar and lifted him off his seat. "Go and get your Charmander."

Damian blinked in surprised from the unexpected action but his mind quickly processed the situation and he glared at Brock. "Huh? Why should I?"

"You lied to your Pokémon that you would be back for it," Brock replied. "Now it's still waiting out there in the rain for you. If the flame on its tail goes out, it will die!"

However, his words were ignored by Damian as he pushed Brock's hands off him. "What I do is none of your business!"

"Do as he says!" Ash cried, stepping beside Brock as he folded his arms. "To think you'd want to be a Pokémon Trainer with that kind of attitude."

"What did you say, brat?" Damian's eyes shifted to Ash, glaring at him.

Misty scoffed. "You disgust me. How could you leave Charmander by itself?!"

Damian rolled his eyes before grabbing one of his Pokéballs from the table. "You wanna fight?"

"You better not mess with Damian!" Cried one of the boys behind Damian.

Ash took out Pidgeotto's Pokéball and he glared at Damian. "You wouldn't win against me anyway with an attitude like that."

Then, Nurse Joy stepped forward, clapping her hands to stop the two groups. "Alright, break it up. This is a Pokémon Center. Pokémon Battles are not permitted within this place. It's disrespectful to the Pokémon and their Trainers who are trying to rest."

Damian frowned as he kept his Pokéballs and turned away. "Well tell that to them. They were the ones who started it."

Nurse Joy sighed. "I'd think you guys would be better off not to get mixed up with them. They have a really bad reputation."

"Uh…thanks for the advice!" Brock stuttered, blushing madly when he noticed that Nurse Joy was looking in his direction. Nurse Joy smiled back and turned away before heading back to the counter and leaving Brock to gaze at her with admiration. "Wow. I've never seen any of the Nurse Joy as beautiful as her."

Misty gave him a look of confusion. "What are you talking about? They all look the same to me."

"That's why you don't know anything about love," Brock replied bluntly without hesitation. Then, his mind went back to Charmander. "Now we've got to find that Charmander and quick, before its flame extinguishes."

Ash gave him a nod before turning around to face Pikachu and Beedrill. "Guys, take care of Arcus. Make sure nothing happens to him while we go get that Charmander."

 **"I'm coming with you, Ash!"** Pikachu said, jumping onto Ash's shoulder. **"You'll never know what kind of Pokémon are out there."**

"Alright then," Ash smiled. "Beedrill, mind looking after Arcus?"

Beedrill folded his stingers and nodded, which Pikachu smiled. **"Beedrill says that he'll keep Arcus safe anyway. All we need to worry about is that Charmander."**

"Then let's get moving!"

* * *

As soon as Ash and his friends ran out of the Pokémon Center, Beedrill felt a powerful presence enter the Center. It was strong, yet familiar at the same time, which took him by surprise as he has never felt such presence before.

His eyes darted towards the door, where he spotted a drenched, bandaged man step in. The man was the source of the presence, and he wasn't the only one who was thinking that. Around him, other Pokémon who were out of their Pokéballs were also looking towards the man's direction, much to the confusion of most of the Trainers present.

The man's right eye scanned the room and he soon stopped when he spotted Beedrill and Arcus. He flicked his hair to the side and approached them, which made Beedrill raise his stingers towards him.

He stopped just inches away from the table that the two were on and he closed his eye. Then, Beedrill lowered his stingers when he heard a voice speaking to him through telepathy. _"Beedrill, I am not a threat. Lower your stingers."_

Beedrill stared at the man with a confused look and he began hovering in front of Arcus. "Who are you?"

The man gave him a soft smile before turning to Arcus. _"You know who I am, Beedrill. And as expected, I would find him here."_ Before Beedrill could do or say anything else, he saw the man waved his hand from the left to the right. A golden aura emitted from Beedrill, which caused him to drop onto the table and step back.

 _"Unfortunately for me, I am unable to hold him nor will he remember me for he is still young,"_ the man telepathically said as he watched Arcus nudging Beedrill to move, which the Poison Bee Pokémon was unable to do. Then, he reached into his trench coat and pulled out a brace, which was navy-blue in color with a sphere-like stone placed in it as well as a note attached to it. He placed the brace in front of Beedrill and gave him a smile. _"Place this brace on Arcus's arm. This will be an important equipment in his life."_

Beedrill bowed. "As you wish, Arceus."

The man, identified as Arceus, chuckled. _"Took you quite a while to guess who I was. But do you understand what you are to do?"_

Beedrill nodded. "I, as one of the Chosen Ones, shall protect Arcus on your behalf. I know what I am to do as well. All I have to do is get the human known as Ash to place the brace on Arcus's arm."

Arceus nodded. _"That's correct, Beedrill. And don't worry. The others will soon arrive as well."_

"Others?" Beedrill repeated as he looked up at Arceus.

The disguised Alpha Pokémon placed a hand on Beedrill's head and gently patted him. _"The other Chosen Ones will soon arrive. It will take some time but they will soon be here. You won't be alone in this anymore."_

"I am grateful for that," Beedrill replied as the aura around him faded away. "But who is the next Chosen One that I will encounter?"

Arceus gave the Poison Bee Pokémon a grin. _"That's a surprise. But all I can say is that the next one to appear in Arcus's life will be one of the most important ones. Now I must leave. Ash and his friends have probably rescued that Charmander by now and are on their way back."_

"I wish you a safe journey, Arceus," Beedrill said before he watched the Alpha Pokémon make his way towards the counter, where he placed three azure colored Pokéball-like capsules in front of Nurse Joy before he whispered something inaudible for Beedrill to hear to Nurse Joy.

Nurse Joy flashed him a smile before picking up the three capsules and placed them in a tray where she brought them to the back of the room. For a while, Nurse Joy barely came out of the other room, but when she did, she handed the three capsules to Arceus. "They're all healed up, sir. By the way, the storm doesn't look like it's about to end, would you like to take a rest in the Center?"

"What about the other Trainers? I saw them leave."

"Those Trainers are just enthusiastic," Nurse Joy replied. "A storm like this won't stop them from adventuring."

Arceus smiled. "Nice to know that the youngsters are active. But I don't think I'll be staying here. I, too, have many things to do as well. Also, I'm sure that Beedrill over there is still waiting for its Trainer." He gestured towards Beedrill and Arcus and he turned back to the nurse. "I'm sure their Trainer is still out there."

"I'll make sure that the Beedrill's Trainer comes back," Nurse Joy replied, which made Arceus nod as he made his way out of the Pokémon Center, waving goodbye to Beedrill and Arcus, who tilted his head in confusion at him. Arceus noticed this and he chuckled to himself, glad that he had finally meet his son.

* * *

The lights of the Pokémon Center soon switched off, excluding the light at the counter, which Nurse Joy sighed at as she looked out of the window before turning to Beedrill and Arcus. "Oh, I hope your Trainer gets back soon. It's not healthy to stay out in the rain for a long period of time."

Beedrill grumbled to himself, wishing that he had the gotten the PokéTranslator that Ash had clearly forgotten to give him so that he could explain to Nurse Joy that he was not Ash's Pokémon, nor was Arcus.

Fortunately for him, Ash and his friends came into the Center at that moment.

"Nurse Joy! Please help us!" Ash cried, clearly exhausted.

"What's wrong?"

Brock lifted his hands, showing the pink-haired nurse a soaked Charmander covered by a blanket. "This Charmander is in bad shape, Nurse Joy. We've got to hurry or the flame on its tail might extinguish."

Nurse Joy eyed the Charmander in his hands and she picked it up. "There's not much time. But I'll do what I can." Without another word, Nurse Joy turned around and ran back behind the counter and opened the door behind it. "Stay outside while I go through a check on it."

As the door closed, Brock and Misty hurried towards the counter while Ash and Pikachu made their way towards Beedrill and Arcus. "How are you two doing? Everything alright, Beedrill?"

The Poison Bee Pokémon gave him a simple nod before flying towards Pikachu. "Someone came to visit Arcus while you were gone, Pikachu."

"Who?" Pikachu asked, turning his PokéTranslator off. "There isn't that many people who know of Arcus to begin with, so who was it?"

"Arceus himself," Beedrill replied, which nearly gave the Mouse Pokémon the shock. "He came to give Arcus a gift, but it has to be placed on his arm and since I can't do it, I was hoping your Trainer could."

"Is that it?" Pikachu asked. "I expected something grander since it was Arceus who came. But I guess what's done is done." He reached for his ear, where he activated the translator and turned to Ash. **"Ash, looks like Arcus was handed a gift."**

"Really?" Ash asked as Beedrill pointed towards the brace that Arceus had placed. Ash blinked when he saw it and he picked it up, noticing that a note was attached to it. Ash tore the note from the brace and he read it aloud.

"Dear Ash, I see that you've taken care of Arcus for me. I thank you for your hard work and for raising him for me when I couldn't. Now I'm sure you're probably wondering about the brace I've left behind. It is called the Universal Brace and it's an item only Arcus can wield. The brace is a stabilizer, which will help Arcus control his powers as he matures. Now that he has awaken, he will be prone to have sudden power outburst, but with this he would be safe. All you have to do is place it on his arm. I know that you'll raise him well and when the time is right, you will get to meet me and so will Arcus. Best regards, A."

Ash blinked in surprised when he saw the name of the sender. "A? He was here?"

"Ash!" Brock called out. "Come on, Nurse Joy said that we could come see Charmander now."

"I'll be right there!" Ash replied as he patted Arcus's head. "I'll put the brace on you later. I've got to check on Charmander first."

However, Arcus ignored him, jumping off the table as he ran towards the back of the counter where Brock was at. "Arcus! Where are you going?" Ash cried as he grabbed the Universal Brace and ran towards the back of the counter to join Brock as Beedrill and Pikachu followed them.

Once they were in the next room, Brock closed the door behind him and he made his way to one of the beds where Charmander was resting on. Arcus was in Misty's arms as Ash and Pikachu were beside her while Beedrill hovered above them, but away from Misty as he knew of her fear of Bug Pokémon.

Nurse Joy was standing next to the bed with a stethoscope in her hands. She gently pressed it against Charmander's shivering body and observed its tail, where its flame was flickering constantly. "Charmander is very weak. How could you let it get into this condition?"

"It's not our fault!" Ash retorted. "Damian's the one who abandoned it." This caused Nurse Joy to gasp in surprise when she heard the name as Ash continued. "He promised Charmander that he'll come back for it. Charmander's loyal to him so it believed his words."

Nurse Joy's eyes softened as she turned to the Lizard Pokémon, giving it a look of sympathy. "Poor Charmander, and Damian just left with the rest of his friends minutes ago."

"Please Nurse Joy!" Brock cried as he grabbed her hands and held them close. "You have to save this Charmander. It's got to get better!"

"It's my job," Nurse Joy replied. "Just leave this Charmander to me. I'll do whatever I can. Now please step outside so I can begin."

As the group made their way out of the Emergency Room, the light above the door flashed and the door was locked. Brock turned to face the door and he just stared at it while Misty and Ash sat down on the bench next to the door.

Taking out the Universal Brace, Ash lifted up Arcus's right arm and he placed the brace on him, securing it to the Baby Pokémon's arm. "There, the only thing we have to do now is meet A. But when will we?" Ash muttered to himself as he lowered Arcus down, who was busy marveling at the new item he had.

Then, a small glow could be seen from the brace's stone which lasted for a moments before fading away. At the same time, Beedrill's mark seemed to glow as well but fading away as soon as the stone stopped. This caused the Poison Bee Pokémon to smile when he felt a calm energy flooding into his body as he hovered beside the Baby Pokémon.

After what seemed like hours, the door finally opened and the group gathered in front of it as Nurse Joy stepped out of the Emergency Room. When the pink-haired nurse saw them, she gave them a smile and she stepped aside, allowing them to come into the room.

When they did, they spotted Charmander resting peacefully with the flame on his tail slowly growing once more.

"Charmander's recovering. It should be fine by morning," Nurse Joy said, much to Brock's relief as he smiled at the sleeping Lizard Pokémon.

 _"That's the spirit, Charmander,"_ thought Brock as Nurse Joy ushered them out.

Once Nurse Joy had closed the door, she turned to the group. "I can't thank you children enough for helping to save this Charmander. If it weren't for you three, I don't know what might happen to it."

A frown formed on Misty's face as she folded her arms. "It's all Damian's fault! If only he had raised Charmander properly, then he wouldn't have to leave the poor Pokémon behind."

"If you ask me, he doesn't deserve to be a Pokémon Trainer to begin with," Ash added on. "He doesn't even care about his own Pokémon. A real Trainer would never abandon their Pokémon no matter what the reason is."

Nurse Joy nodded. "That's right. Pokémon and their Trainers are partners, they support each other in any situation that they come across. If the Trainer cannot work with their Pokémon, then they won't make it as a real Pokémon Trainer."

"What about the rest of his Pokémon?" Brock asked. "Damian has more than just Charmander. Who knows what kind of horrible thing he's done to them. If he abandons Charmander because it was weak to him, then what will he do to the other Pokémon if they don't satisfy him?"

"I'm afraid we will never know," Nurse Joy replied. "Since Damian had already left, we can't do anything. However, we could give a call to Officer Jenny. We already have evidence that Damian is unsuitable to be a Pokémon Trainer, all we have to do is rely on Jenny to catch that boy."

Smiles of approval could be seen on the kids' faces as they all agreed with Joy, who made her way to the counter and picked up the phone, before she dialed in the number for Officer Jenny.

However, all four of them were unaware of the eavesdropper that had listen in on their conversation from outside the Center. Arceus grinned, remembering that he had enhanced hearing as he strolled down the path while the rain poured down on him.

"I guess I'll have to interfere just this once."

* * *

Morning soon arrived as the sun brightened up the sky. The rain had also stopped, much to Brock's delight as he approached the Emergency Room. As he did, he realized that the door was already opened.

"Maybe Nurse Joy is in there," Brock said to himself as he knocked on the ajar door. He stepped into the room and his jaw dropped in shock when he saw that Charmander was no longer in the room. Next to an opened window, Nurse Joy gave Brock a saddened look and he asked. "Where's Charmander?"

"While we were sleeping, it must have ran off through the window."

Brock wasted no time. He turned around and dashed out, making his way towards Ash and Misty. "Guys, wake up!"

Ash jumped, falling off the sofa as he turned his head to Brock. "What's with the wake-up call?"

"Charmander's disappeared from the ER!"

The group quickly ran back to the Emergency Room, where Ash and Misty saw the opened window and they gasped.

"I bet it went back to that rock to wait for Damian," Ash said.

"We've got to go back!" Brock stated, only to be stopped by Misty.

"That's no use. We can't force Charmander to come with us if it wants to wait for Damian, even if he is a lying jerk."

Nurse Joy nodded to Misty. "She's right. There's nothing you can do until Charmander realizes the truth." Then, she closed the window. "I would guess Charmander has already made it to the rock you talked about as well. But even if you were to go back, wouldn't you be taking longer to make it to Vermilion City?"

Misty sighed. "Nurse Joy's right. If Damian even comes back to get it, I'm sure Officer Jenny will be there to save it. We, on the other hand, have a Gym to visit, isn't that right, Ash?"

Ash nodded sadly. "Yeah. But all I want now is for Charmander to forget about Damian and find a new Trainer who would take care of it properly."

After saying their farewells to Nurse Joy and packing up, Ash and his friends left the Pokémon Center with heavy hearts, mostly Brock.

"I thought Charmander understood that we cared about it…"

"Brock," Ash said. "Charmander knew that we care, but don't you see, it couldn't forget about Damian. It's still loyal to him. That's why it went back."

The Pokémon Breeder looked down, feeling depressed about Ash's words. He knew that what he said was true, but he just couldn't help but think about how sad Charmander might be if Damian were to take it back. Then, he received a knock on the head from Misty's fist.

"Let's just get to Vermilion City and forget about the past," Misty said. "What's done is done, Brock. Nothing will change it. So all we can do now is get to Vermilion City so Ash can get his next Gym Badge."

As the group walked down the path, they soon found themselves feeling watched. A few steps later, Ash felt the ground beneath him sink. "Did you guys feel that?"

"I did," Brock replied.

"Huh? What?" Misty questioned them, confused as to what they were talking about.

Within seconds, the ground gave way and the three of them fell into a pitfall. Pikachu, Arcus and Beedrill peeked into the hole and Pikachu could only sigh. **"Again? How many of these traps are you guys going to fall for?"**

Just then, both Pikachu and Arcus felt a body wrapping around them. Before they could react, they were wrapped by an Ekans while Beedrill was slammed on his side by a Koffing, sending the Poison Bee Pokémon crashing into a nearby tree as he fell onto the ground.

A familiar laughter echoed and from behind them, Team Rocket emerged.

"It worked! I can't believe they fell for it!" Meowth cried out, sounding surprised.

Jessie simply smirked. "Of course they would. They're just dumb kids to begin with. Good job on catching those two, Ekans." In response, Ekans hissed back at Jessie with a smile as she gently patted its head.

"Hey! If it weren't for Koffing, we would still be dealing with that pesky Beedrill," James added as he walked up to his team.

"Team Rocket!" Ash cried from the pitfall. "I should have known. What do you think you're doing?"

"We're trying to steal your Pokémon, like we should," Jessie replied as she peered into the pitfall. "Have fun trying to get out of there, twerps! My Ekans dug that hole so that you wouldn't be able to climb out."

Ash glared at her. "Oh yeah? Pikachu, use…"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Jessie interrupted, wiggling her finger from side to side as to tell the boy not to continue. "You wouldn't want your Pikachu to harm the adorable little Baby Pokémon, would you?"

Ash could help but agree with Jessie for once. If Pikachu were to use Thunder Shock, it might harm Arcus as well, and he wouldn't want to risk it. Beedrill was also knocked out, so there wasn't anyone who would be able to help.

"Now that we got what we came for, let's get out of here," Meowth said as he turned away, only to spot a Charmander standing in their way.

"Char! Charmander!"

"A Charmander?" Jessie blinked as she looked at the Lizard Pokémon. "What did it say?"

Meowth cleared his throat as he translated Charmander's words to his team. "His saying that you'd better give Pikachu and the Baby Pokémon back to those guys right now."

"It's got to be kidding," Jessie deadpanned.

"Step aside, you little lizard. Team Rocket doesn't have the time to play with you," James said. "Koffing, Tackle it!"

They were looking down on him. Charmander narrowed his eyes at Koffing, who was nearing him. From the tone of their voices, Charmander knew that since he was small, they thought he was not strong enough, just like how his Trainer had thought. Anger burned in him and Charmander felt like he was going to blow. He clenched his hands and clenched his jaw, holding back the anger which proved to be too strong to subdue. In the end, he released his anger, in the form of Flamethrower.

Seeing him retaliate was surprising to Team Rocket as well. They hadn't expected it to happen. They thought that Charmander wouldn't be much trouble, but they were proven wrong when Koffing was engulfed in flames. But the flames didn't stop. Charmander's Flamethrower continued moving towards them, burning them as Pikachu shielded Arcus from it while Ekans took the full hit of the Flamethrower.

As Koffing and Ekans collapsed, Pikachu got out of Ekans's grip and he pulled Arcus out with him. The Mouse Pokémon gave Charmander a nod and the two ran over to Beedrill while Charmander approached Team Rocket, who picked up the unconscious Ekans and Koffing and took off in a hurry when they saw that Charmander was about to use Flamethrower again.

Then, Charmander peered into the pitfall, where he saw a pair of vines emerged from it. The vines stopped on the ground and Ash's Bulbasaur soon emerged from it. Bulbasaur turned back to the pitfall and his vines reached in, grabbing the three humans and lifting them out of the trap.

"Thanks for the help, Charmander," Brock said, receiving a smile from the Lizard Pokémon.

"You see, Brock? Charmander knew we cared. That's why it's here," Misty said.

Ash nodded before turning to Charmander. The boy knelt down, causing Charmander to turn to him with a confused look. Ash simply gave him a smile and spoke. "Charmander, thanks for saving us. I know this might sound selfish, but how would you like to join us?"

The Lizard Pokémon was surprised by this sudden offer. His eyes widened in shock and he let out a small yelp which Ash chuckled at. "Come on, Charmander. Your Trainer doesn't want you, that's why he hasn't come back yet. Think about it, if he cared about you, he would have already come and pick you up long ago. But he didn't."

"Who says I didn't?" Cried a voice that Ash didn't wish to hear.

As they all turned around, they spotted Damian, his arms on his waist and a smug look on his face as he looked at Charmander. "Hey Charmander. I've been looking everywhere for you."

"What do you want, Damian?" Brock demanded.

Damian shrugged. "What? Do you think I would break a promise I made with my dear Charmander?" Hearing this, everyone gasped as Damian extended one of his hands out towards Charmander. "Let's go, partner."

"Charmander!" Brock cried. "Be careful of your choice. This guy has already abandon you before. Think about it."

Damian scoffed. "Charmander is mine. I'm the one who caught it. Am I right, Charmander?"

"You bragged about how you abandoned it!"

The blue-haired boy laughed in Ash's direction. "I'm glad I did! That toughened it up! Besides, what wrong with dumping all the weak Pokémon? I wasn't really going to come back for it, but after that Flamethrower I saw, I'm really glad I ran into you guys. The best thing is that I didn't have to raise it myself!"

"That's a terrible way a Trainer can follow!" Misty yelled.

Brock clenched his hand and balled it into a fist. "Raising a Pokémon is the best part of being a Trainer! How could you say something like that?"

Damian rolled his eyes. "You wish! It's the most boring part of the job."

"How dare you call yourself a Pokémon Trainer?!"

Misty turned towards Charmander and she spoke to him. "You see, Charmander? He doesn't care about you. He just wants to use you to win."

"I've had enough of this!" Damian cried as he pulled out a Pokéball from his pocket, Charmander's Pokéball. "Charmander, return!" A red glow shot out from the capsule, but as it neared Charmander, the Lizard Pokémon leapt out of the way, surprising everyone.

Charmander had made up his mind. He has seen enough to decide. All this time, ever since he was caught by Damian, he thought that Damian was being harsh to him because he cared. But now that he has heard what Damian had said, it was time he broke free from the boy's grip. Charmander gave a loud roar as flames erupted from his mouth, spewing a Flamethrower attack which engulfed Damian.

"AAAHHHH!" Damian screamed as he collapsed on his back, wincing in pain from the burns he had received on his arms when he attempted to defend himself out of instinct. When the pain lessened, he got up and wiped the tears on his face. "How dare you! I'm gonna crush you with the rest of my Pokémon!"

But before Damian could do anything, Charmander had released another Flamethrower, which made Damian scream out in fear as he took off in the opposite direction.

"See Charmander?" Ash asked as the Lizard Pokémon turned to him. "Even without Damian, you're already a strong Pokémon. So how about it? Would you like to come with us?"

Without any hesitation, Charmander smiled and leapt into Ash's arms. Ash smiled at the Lizard Pokémon and he looked at Brock. "Why don't you catch it, Brock?"

Brock gave him a smile. "I appreciate that you want me to do it, Ash. But I think if Charmander was trained by you, it would be much stronger. I think you should be the one to catch it. Besides, wasn't it your goal to catch them all?"

Misty smiled. "I agree with Brock. Come on, Ash. Just catch Charmander already."

"Thanks, guys," Ash replied as he pulled out an empty Pokéball. "Come on, Charmander. Welcome to the group!" As soon as Ash tossed the capsule at him, Charmander tapped it and he was absorbed into the Pokéball. Since he didn't resist it, the capture was successful as well.

"Looks like you've got a new friend," Misty said.

"Yeah," Ash smiled as he picked up the Pokéball. However, before he could tuck it under his belt, the capsule soon vanished, shocking him as he let out a scream. "WHERE DID CHARMANDER GO?!"

Both Brock and Misty sighed when they heard him. The Water Pokémon Trainer rolled her eyes. "Oh boy, looks like we've got to explain to him the Pokéball limitations…"

* * *

 **At Damian's location:**

He lost his chance.

Damian cursed himself as he kicked the tree in front of him. His chance to get Charmander had completely backfired, all thanks to Ash and his friends. "It's all their fault! My dream…now I can't achieve it…"

It was all he ever wanted. To acquire all the strongest Pokémon in the whole world, that was his dream. That was why he had captured Charmander. He had heard of the strength and power that a Charizard, which was Charmander's final Evolution, and he wanted it for himself. But he found that to get a Charizard, he would have to train Charmander up, which he felt was a waste of time.

"Who cares about it anyway?" Damian muttered. "I can just get another Charmander, or maybe a Charmeleon this time. Yeah, that's all I've got to do. All I need to do now is find it."

"A Trainer who values strength and power over friendship and compassion doesn't deserve the title of Pokémon Trainer."

Damian froze. As he turned around, he saw a trench coat-wearing bandaged man who was glaring at him with his right eye. "Who do you think you are talking to me like that?"

The man simply reached into his coat and he pulled out a strange blue Pokéball that Damian had never seen before. The man dropped the capsule and it split open, releasing the Pokémon within it.

From the capsule, the Pokémon released was draconic and bipedal. It was primarily orange with a cream underside from the chest to the tip of its tail, which burned with a sizable flame. The Pokémon also had a long neck, small blue eyes, raised nostrils, and two blunt horns protruding from the back of its rectangular head. There were two fangs visible in the upper jaw of its mouth and two large wings with teal undersides sprout from its back, and a horn-like appendage jutting out from the third joint of each wing. Its arms were short and skinny compared to its robust belly, and each limb had three white claws and it had stocky legs and cream-colored soles under its feet.

Seeing this Pokémon, Damian fell on his butt and his eyes were filled with fear. Standing before him was the Pokémon he dreamed of having, a Charizard.

The man narrowed his eye at the boy and he spoke. "Pyros, show him how wrong he is in his belief."

Pyros, as the Charizard was called, snorted obediently and he stomped towards Damian, who backed away in fright at the enormous size of the Charizard in front of him. Pyros balled one of his hands into a fist and it began glowing. Then, in a flash, Pyros slammed his fist into the ground, causing cracks to form from the impacts as Damian was left paralyzed in fear as Pyros's fist was inches away from him.

A glow from the man's hand caused all of Damian's Pokéballs to levitate in the air with a blue aura emitting from them as they were brought to him. "A Trainer who also lies about the number of Pokémon he has is pathetic."

The Pokéballs were then crushed, releasing three Pokémon from the capsules, revealing that the rest were empty.

The man looked down at the three Pokémon in front of him. The first one was a Spearow, which had a bruised beak and wings. It was also limping on one leg as well. The second one was a Metapod, which was also bruised, but it seemed to be starving. The final one was a Meowth, which had cuts and bruises all over its body, as if it had never been treated at the Pokémon Center at all.

The man's eyes then widened when he saw the three claw marks on the Meowth's chest. "So this was how it happened. Then this wasn't interfering at all. This was all supposed to happen." He turned to the Spearow and Metapod and waved his hand to the side. "You two are free to go."

Both the Spearow and Metapod nodded and they left, leaving the Meowth alone with the man, who extended a hand out to it, which the Meowth flinched at, expecting a harsher action that never came. The Meowth looked up at the man, who showed him a gentle smile. "Come with me, and you shall be well taken care of."

The Meowth hesitated at first, but when it noticed Pyros making his way back to the man, the Meowth spotted Damian at a corner, paled from almost being squashed by him. Meowth turned back to the man and grabbed onto his hand, causing the three claw mark on his chest to glow.

"Welcome home," the man said as a golden aura emitted from him, which caused Meowth to bow when he realized who the man was.

Pyros was recalled into his capsule and the man picked up Meowth before turning to Damian. "You will never be allowed to catch another Pokémon, am I clear?" The boy could only nod shakily as he scrambled to his feet and ran off.

"Teleport."

In an instant, the man and Meowth disappeared from sight.

* * *

 **Me: Well, that was a pain to write. I always hated Damian and I'm sure all of you do too. But now that that's over, I don't have to write about him anymore!**

 **Arcus: Finally. Can't wait to hear what happens to him in the next chapter.**

 **Me: Yeah. Time to brainstorm the next chapter. Also, did you guys like the cameos of two of Arcus's future Pokémon? The name of the Charizard was already given, but for those who read the original, do you guys still remember who the Meowth was? Anyway, the next chapter will be the last part of the Kanto Starters, and Ash will be catching Squirtle just like the anime so not much change. But there might be some extra things.**


	12. Chapter 10: Kanto Starters part 3

**Chapter 10: Kanto Starters part 3**

 **Me: The final part of the Kanto Starters are here! Wo~!**

 **Arcus: Yeah, let's get going to the story, shall we? We're just wasting time with this segment.**

 **Me: Fine...on to the disclaimer!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon but I do own Arcus and any other OCs in this story.**

* * *

 **Response to Guest reviews:**

 **Guest: I guess you got me there. But yeah, it would be like that. Arcus would soon move on to his own journey once he evolves, like in the original story. And I'm glad you enjoy it!**

* * *

 **Pokémon on hand:**

 **Ash - Pikachu(M), Butterfree(M), Pidgeotto(M), Beedrill(M), Bulbasaur(M), Charmander(M). At Oak's lab - Zubat(M)**

 **Misty - Starmie, Staryu, Goldeen(F)**

 **Brock - Onix(M), Geodude(M), Zubat(M)**

* * *

A couple of days seem to pass by very fast for Ash and his friends as they soon stopped along the path. It was already getting late and continuing their way to Vermilion City at this hour would tire them out. Hence, they decided to camp out until morning.

The Pokémon Breeder of the group had already set up a campfire thanks to the wood he had picked up from the forest where they had met Charmander. He mentally thanked himself for stocking up in firewood as well for such emergencies such as this.

Currently, he was cooking up dinner for the group and Geodude was helping him with the ingredients while his Zubat was off resting on top of Onix who had curled up around the camp as it smiled when Brock faced it.

Resting close to Onix would be Misty who was lying down next to a small water-filled hole that Onix had created for her Water type Pokémon, which were Staryu, Starmie and Goldeen.

At a distance away from the camp was Ash and all of his Pokémon: Pikachu, Butterfree, Pidgeotto, Beedrill, Charmander, and Bulbasaur. After being explained that Charmander was at Professor Oak's lab because of the limitations that only allows Trainers to have six Pokémon, Ash had calmed down and had swapped his Charmander for Zubat thanks to the white button on his Pokédex, which Zubat did not mind.

Now, Ash was beginning a training session with his Pokémon with Arcus watching from the side. "Alright, boys! Let's do some training! We barely had one ever since Bulbasaur and Charmander joined us. So what do you all say? Let's train until Brock calls us for dinner!"

In response, all six of Ash's Pokémon smiled as their PokéTranslators activated. **"Let's do this!"**

Ash thanked Pikachu for constantly reminding him about it as he had forgotten about the extra translators he had and he turned to the Mouse Pokémon. "At least now I won't have to rely on you for translations. I would have given one to the Beedrill that's been following us but I can understand most of his reasons for staying so I'll tell Professor Oak about it when we get to a Pokémon Center in Vermilion City. For now, let's begin!"

His Pokémon all got to their feet and Ash started the training with the two main flyers of the team. "Pidgeotto! Butterfree! Time to practice some maneuvers in case we run into some trouble." Both the flyers nodded and they flew up as Ash began giving them commands. "Pidgeotto, try using some of your moves at Butterfree while he tries to counter you."

Pidgeotto complied with the command and he turned to the Butterfly Pokémon. **"Look out, Butterfree. I'm coming at you with a Quick Attack first!"**

 **"Give me your best shot!"** Butterfree cried as he watched the Bird Pokémon emit a white glow around his body as he dived at him. The Butterfly Pokémon smirked, twisting his body as Pidgeotto flew right past him. Then, Butterfree fired a white web-like string from his snout which hit Pidgeotto.

The strings entangled his wings and before he knew it, Pidgeotto was plummeting towards the ground.

Ash smiled. "Pidgeotto! Break free with your beak and use Wing Attack!" Pidgeotto did as he was told and his beak sliced through the strings like nothing, freeing the Bird Pokémon as he spread his wings out to stop his fall. A gust of wind struck the ground as Pidgeotto hovered inches above the ground before he gave one strong flap of his wings and return to the sky while his wings glowed brightly.

"Alright, Butterfree! Use Stun Spore!"

The Butterfly Pokémon flapped his wings where an orange mist soon formed and it was blown towards Pidgeotto's direction.

 **"Child's play!"** Pidgeotto said as he lifted his body up, flying over the mist and continuing on his path towards Butterfree with his wings still glowing, ready for a Wing Attack to hit.

When Pidgeotto neared him, Butterfree was given his next command from Ash. "Harden! Then use Tackle!" The Butterfly Pokémon's body glowed slightly, giving off a green aura which raised his defense. As soon as the Bird Pokémon had collided, he was propelled back by Butterfree, who lunged at him, slamming himself into Pidgeotto.

Pidgeotto stumbled back and he gave the Butterfly Pokémon a smile as Ash called out to him. "Pidgeotto, use Quick Attack! Try to get as close as you can to Butterfree and then use Wing Attack again!"

The Bird Pokémon emitted a white glow around his body once more as he flew towards Butterfree at an extremely quick pace, which Butterfree was prepared to counter. However, what Butterfree had no realized was that Pidgeotto had increased his speed compared to the previous Quick Attack. Within seconds, the Bird Pokémon was in front of him. Pidgeotto took this opportunity and slammed one of his wings in Butterfree, causing the Butterfly Pokémon to fall from the very effective hit.

However, Butterfree already had a counterattack ready. Thanks to Ash, he had developed a new strategy to combat Flying type Pokémon. Once his underside was exposed to Pidgeotto, the Butterfly Pokémon flapped his wings, releasing blue powder from them which was commonly known as Sleep Powder.

Pidgeotto was unprepared for it and he took the full effect of the Sleep Powder, which caused him to fall asleep while he plummeted towards the ground while Butterfree twirled around to stabilize himself in the air while Ash ran up to grab the Bird Pokémon before he could hit the ground.

"Well done, Butterfree," Ash said as the Butterfly Pokémon flew back towards him. "Looks like you have everything under control. Now we'll be able to win against Flying type Pokémon without worrying about the type advantages they have."

Butterfree nodded. **"Yeah! It's all thanks to our previous battles in the past, especially the one when I had to battle Pidgeotto back when I was a Caterpie."**

"Guess it was a big help after all," Ash replied with a smile. "Take a rest, Butterfree. You deserve it. And could you bring Pidgeotto back to the camp too?"

 **"No problem!"** Butterfree said as he picked up the Bird Pokémon and flew towards the camp.

Ash turned back to his remaining Pokémon and smiled as his eyes met Charmander. "Alright, Charmander. Let's have you battle against Pikachu. How does that sound?"

The Lizard Pokémon turned to Pikachu, who nodded to him and he gave Ash his own smile. **"I'm ready!"**

"Great. So that leaves Bulbasaur with Beedrill."

The Seed Pokémon, however, shook his head. **"Beedrill's training with his friend. I'm going to seat this one out."**

Ash gave him an understanding nod and spoke. "Head back to the camp, Bulbasaur. I'll wrap this training up once this battle is done. I wouldn't want to disturb those Beedrill, would I?" In response, the Seed Pokémon made his way back to the camp while Ash turned back to his remaining Pokémon. "Alright, Pikachu. Let's try an early Thunder Shock. Charmander, try to dodge the attack as fast as you can and use Scratch."

In an instant, the two Pokémon got into action with Pikachu charging his body with electricity and releasing it at Charmander in the form of lightning bolts which the Lizard Pokémon sidestepped to his right.

Charmander's claws glowed brightly as he lunged himself at Pikachu. **"Here it comes!"** However, Pikachu was one step ahead of him. Before he knew it, the Mouse Pokémon had leapt onto his head and pushed himself off as he jumped into the air.

This caught Charmander off guard as he turned around, only to see Pikachu charging his body once more with electricity.

"Charmander, use Flamethrower!"

Hearing his Trainer's command, Charmander blasted his Flamethrower attack at Pikachu, who launched his Thunder Shock attack at the same time. The two attacks collided and for a moment, they seemed to fuse, creating a small sphere of fire and electricity before exploding, leaving behind a trail of dust that reduced the visibility of the two from each other.

The Lizard Pokémon narrowed his eyes at the thick smoke. He can't see Pikachu through it, nor could the Mouse Pokémon see him. This would give him enough time to charge another Flamethrower attack, which he will use once the smoke clears up. Unfortunately, that didn't go as planned for him.

When his Flamethrower was being prepared, Charmander's eyes widened in shock when Pikachu had suddenly appeared in front of him and then behind him, then Pikachu was in front of him again which confused Charmander as his Flamethrower was accidentally released, exploding in front of him as he was sent flying in the air.

Pikachu's cheeks cackled with electricity as he charged himself while his eyes locked onto Charmander. Then, a Thunderbolt attack was fired, hitting its target which caused Charmander to scream in pain as he fell towards the ground.

Ash was there to catch him. Charmander crashed into his arms and Ash smiled at him. "Great job, Charmander. You were able to keep up with Pikachu this time. You deserve a rest." Then, he turned to Pikachu. "You too, Pikachu. Looks like you learned Agility."

The Mouse Pokémon chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head. **"I actually knew Agility way before I met you, Ash."**

"Wait…what?"

 **"Well, if only you'd checked the Pokédex, you would have known my moves as well. I also know Quick Attack, if you're wondering."**

Ash sighed. "That would have been useful to know a long time ago. At least now I do. Anyway, let's head back to the camp. We'll need a Super Potion to heal Charmander after that Thunderbolt attack." Pikachu nodded to him and he crawled up to Ash's shoulder while the boy turned to Arcus and extended a hand out to him. "Come on, Arcus. I'm sure Brock's already done with dinner. Let's go see what he made."

The Baby Pokémon purred softly as he climbed onto Ash's other shoulder, making sure that his claws were holding onto the boy's shirt as they made their way back to the camp. Then, Arcus turned his head around, facing the two Beedrill who were lunging at each other.

Ash's Beedrill raised his stingers in an 'X' manner, blocking a jab from his friend. **"You're really go all out, aren't you?"** Ash's Beedrill said using his translator. **"I haven't seen you this enthusiastic since you were just a Weedle."**

Beedrill chuckled at his friend and he replied. "I'm just excited, friend. More Chosen Ones will soon appear and I won't be the only one that will protect Arcus."

 **"Oh?"**

With his stingers glowing brightly, Beedrill executed a Twineedle attack which were easily dodged by Ash's Beedrill. Then, Beedrill raised his back stinger, parrying one of his friend's stingers. "My job will be much easier now that Arceus has given me the news. But I must still perform my duty. It's what I have to do."

Ash's Beedrill brought his stingers back and spoke. **"Yes, Arcus will need all the protection he can get while he's at this stage. But what I'm more worried about is that Meowth from Team Rocket."**

"Him?" Beedrill asked as he blocked an attack from his friend. "What's wrong about him?"

 **"He acts as if he doesn't know who Arceus is,"** Ash's Beedrill replied. **"Though young Pokémon would not know who Arceus is, this Meowth isn't one. He should have been taught about our Creator by now by his parents."**

"I see," Beedrill said. "It does seem strange. But I might have a guess on why he doesn't know about Arceus. Parents are supposed to be the ones who teach their children about our Creator. Since Team Rocket's Meowth has no clue, then it would only mean one thing."

 **"He was abandoned."**

Beedrill nodded to his friend as they exchanged blows of Fury Attack on each other. "Yes. I also guess that he has not heard about Arceus as well from other Pokémon. His speech is also peculiar. For a Meowth to speak the humans' language, he must have spent his time as a young Pokémon being alone."

Ash's Beedrill shifted his body, dodging his friend's stingers as he narrowed his eyes at him. **"You pity him."**

"He was an outcast, much like how I was before I met you or the elder."

 **"I understand what you're saying, but he is an enemy."**

Finally, Beedrill was able to land a hit on his friend. "That Meowth can change. I saw it in his eyes. They were empty. It was as if he longed for something, something I still don't know."

 **"It must be something special for him to keep on targeting Pikachu and Arcus,"** Ash's Beedrill replied as he recovered from the attack. **"So what are you going to do about it? I don't think talking to him will help you. It would be pointless to do so."**

"I will open his eyes," Beedrill proclaimed as he lunged with a Twineedle attack at his friend, who quickly became defensive as he raised his stingers to protect himself from Beedrill's attacks. "He has simply gone down the wrong path. With guidance, I might be able to bring him back on the right path."

His defenses had been breached. Ash's Beedrill flinched as his stingers were pushed back while his friend thrust his right stinger at him, stopping just inches away from his face. The victory went to Beedrill.

Ash's Beedrill sighed as he got up. **"The keyword is 'might', friend. You know it yourself just from that word. If things go wrong, that Meowth will be heading down the wrong path and he won't be able to turn back from there. You'll have to play your cards right for this."**

"I know I will," Beedrill replied.

This made Ash's Beedrill smile as he hovered off the ground. **"Then I won't stop you from doing that, friend. Now let's head back. I'm sure my Trainer's friend has prepared a wonderful dinner."**

"I still don't trust those humans though," Beedrill said, earning a laugh from his friend as they flew back towards the camp.

By the time they reached the camp, Brock had already prepared their food for them. The pair of Beedrill joined the rest of the Pokémon as they began their dinner while the three humans sat by the campfire with their own dinner.

"How do you feel Ash?" Brock asked. "Now you have two of the Kanto starters. That's something only a few people could achieve."

Ash couldn't help but grin as he faced the Pokémon Breeder. "I feel fantastic! Just one more and I'll have all of them. Then I'll have a team that Gary won't be able to defeat!"

"But who will you swap if you do find a Squirtle?" Misty asked. "It's fine if you want to have all of them in your team. But then you'll have to send one of the Pokémon you already have back to Professor Oak. And from what we have seen so far, you're pretty happy with the ones you have right now."

In that moment, Ash felt his heart skip a beat. He was so caught up in the moment of having Bulbasaur and Charmander that he had completely forgotten about the six Pokémon limitation. He wasn't prepared to send back another Pokémon.

Ash hung his head low and his enthusiasm from seconds ago had completely changed. "Oh. That again. Guess I have a lot of thinking to do, don't I?"

Misty blinked. She realized that she had screwed up the atmosphere of the camp. In an attempt to get the enthusiastic Ash to come back, she smiled at him. "You'll have plenty of time to think. It's not like you'll encounter a Squirtle that quick, right? You can still spend time with the Pokémon that's with you now."

Brock noticed the change in Misty's tone and he, too, realized what was happening and he quickly chimed in. "Y-yeah! It might take us a long time before you encounter one. I heard that they're really hard to find, that's why not many people have all three of them. Most of the time, they'll either have just one or two, like you."

Though Ash could tell that they were trying to cheer him up, he clearly wasn't that excited about their suggestion. He smiled back at them. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, guys. But my goal is to become a Pokémon Master, and that means that I'll stop at nothing until I catch all of the Pokémon. So one day or another, I'll have to catch a Squirtle. But for now, I'll do as you guys say. I'll spend this time with my Pokémon until the time comes when I do catch a Squirtle."

"Glad you understand, Ash," Brock replied as he gave him a pat on the back.

* * *

As morning arrived, Brock was the first one up, packing his things as his Pokémon helped him. Within minutes, he was done packing and he recalled his Pokémon back into their capsules and he proceeded to wake the others up, who did the same and recalled their Pokémon as they got themselves ready for the day ahead.

Once they were all done with their breakfast, Ash picked up Arcus and Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder. "We're all set."

"Then let's head out!" Misty said as she ran ahead of them, which the two boys quickly followed to catch up with her.

With the help of Brock's map, they proceeded down the path as usual.

After hours of walking, they were at the halfway point of reaching a town. However, things didn't went as smoothly as the group had expected.

When Ash had taken a step forward, his foot sank into the ground, causing the group to stop and process the situation. But they were too late. By the time they figured out what had happened, the ground gave way, causing the group to fall into a pitfall.

The 10-year old boy instinctively grabbed onto Pikachu and he tugged both the Mouse Pokémon and Arcus under his arms as he turned his body around, allowing his back to face the bottom of the pitfall as they crashed.

"Ugh! Not another pitfall!" Misty groaned as she rubbed her head.

"I wonder who did this," Brock said as he got up.

Ash stood back up and he loosened his arm, allowing Pikachu to wiggle his way out and climb onto his shoulder. "You alright, Pikachu?"

 **"I'm fine thanks to you,"** Pikachu replied.

Beedrill flew into the pitfall and he hovered beside Ash, speaking in his tongue as Pikachu translated for the boy. **"He's asking if Arcus is alright."**

"He's fine," Ash replied, showing the unharmed Baby Pokémon to Beedrill, who heaved a sigh of relief as Ash looked up at the top of the pitfall before handing Arcus to Beedrill. "Take Arcus to the surface. We'll try to get out of here."

The Poison Bee Pokémon nodded to him and he grabbed Arcus with his stingers, flying out of the pitfall and setting the Baby Pokémon on the ground, a few steps away from the pitfall.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Misty asked.

Ash smiled to the girl and pulled out Bulbasaur's Pokéball. "Here's our way out. Bulbasaur, help us out!" As the Seed Pokémon emerged from his capsule, Ash pointed to the top of the pitfall. "Bulbasaur, think you can lift us out of this pitfall?"

 **"Of course I can,"** Bulbasaur replied as his vines emerged from his back, wrapping them around Misty first as he lifted her out of the pitfall, followed by Brock and Ash. Once all three of them were out, Ash grabbed onto Bulbasaur's vines and he pulled him out of the pitfall.

"Thanks for your help, Bulbasaur," the Seed Pokémon smiled to his Trainer as Ash returned him to his Pokéball. Once Bulbasaur's Pokéball was tucked under his belt, Ash folded his arms with a frown. "I hope that was the only pitfall we'll encounter."

Misty nodded in agreement. "Yeah. But still, who's the one who did it?"

Footsteps could be heard behind the group and they were followed by multiple snickering. Unfortunately, those noise were too soft for the group to hear, except for Pikachu, whose long ears twitched from hearing them. The Mouse Pokémon immediately turned around and he pointed towards the noise. **"They're the ones!"**

Ash, Misty and Brock all turned around and their faces all had a surprised expression. Standing before them was a group of five Pokémon that resembled a light blue turtle and they all wore sunglasses as well. They had large brown eyes and slightly hooked upper lips. Each of their hands and feet had three pointed digits. The end of their long tails curled inward as well. Their bodies were also encased by tough shells which were brown on the top, pale yellow on the bottom, and had a thick white ridge between the two halves. These group of Pokémon were all Squirtle.

"No way," Ash muttered as he pulled out his Pokédex, which soon displayed an image of a Squirtle.

"Squirtle. This Tiny Turtle Pokémon draws its long neck into its shell to launch incredible water attacks with amazing range and accuracy. The blasts can be quite powerful."

"What are the odds?" Brock shrugged. "I can't believe you're this lucky, Ash. You only got two badges and you've already encountered all three of the Kanto starters."

Ash smiled. "Yeah. And when I catch my own Squirtle, I'm sure that I can have a team that can beat Gary. Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on them!"

 **"I've got my target,"** Pikachu responded as he dashed forward with electricity sparking from his body. As the electricity gathered around him, Pikachu discharged it at the Squirtle whose sunglasses had a sharp edges at the end of them.

However, one of the Squirtle intercepted the attack by stepping in front of Pikachu's target, taking the attack for it. The other Squirtle all grabbed onto their electrocuted friend and the one that Pikachu had targeted stepped forward. "Squirtle Squirtle!"

Pikachu scoffed and he spoke in a taunting tone. **"Oh sorry. Did I heard hurt your friend? Why don't you think about the consequences next time before you try to trap someone with a pitfall?!"**

A long silence followed as the two glared at each other. Squirtle was in no mood for a fight now that its friend was injured and that didn't help the fact that Pikachu was about to attack it. But it was soon saved when a police siren was heard. Squirtle turned to its friends and spoke. "Squirtle! Squirt!"

The rest of the Squirtle all nodded as they lifted their injured friend and took off as a motorcycle appeared behind Ash and his friends. The motorcycle stopped and its driver, Officer Jenny, got off it. "Are you guys alright? Has anybody been hurt?"

"Officer Jenny?" Ash blinked. "Why would you think we were in trouble?"

"I saw those Squirtle here and I thought they were causing problems for you guys," Jenny replied. "So did they do anything to you guys?"

Misty shrugged. "Well, if you count a pitfall as a problem, then we would say yes."

Officer Jenny seemed to sigh. "Oh dear. They did it again, didn't they? Anyway, would you three mind coming down to the station with me? I'll need to write a report on the Squirtle again."

"Sure, anything for you, milady!" Brock replied as he got down on one knee and held Jenny's right hand in his. "In fact, I can do more than just follow you to the station, I wouldn't mind asking you out on a da…"

"Jeez…" Misty sighed as she grabbed the Breeder by the ear. "Sorry about our friend, Officer Jenny. He tends to do this whenever he's around pretty girls."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Jenny smiled as she got onto her motorcycle. "Now let's head to the station. It's right in the town nearby so it wouldn't take us long to reach there."

* * *

Once they had reached the town, Ash and his friends were escorted by Jenny to the station, which wasn't far away. The station wasn't big either, but was still big enough to accommodate all of them. It even reminded Ash of the station back at Viridian City where he met the first Officer Jenny of his journey.

Even as they enter the station, Ash was reminded of it when he was greeted by the photo that was hanging on the wall, which had nine Officer Jenny all together, having their picture taken.

Speaking of pictures, Jenny had pulled out a file from underneath her desk. As she placed the file on her desk, she opened it, revealing that they were pictures of the same group of Squirtle they had encountered minutes ago.

"These Squirtle you kids saw call themselves the Squirtle Squad," Jenny spoke. "They're all Squirtle who were deserted by their Trainers. Since they don't have any Trainers, they just run wild and play tricks on the whole town, some of those tricks have been reported as dangerous as well, much like your little pitfall incident."

"I think my body is still hurting from that fall," Misty muttered, rubbing a bruise on her knee.

"I understand your pain," Jenny replied before she heaved a sigh. "You know, it's really sad because if they had somebody who cared about them, they wouldn't turn out as bad as they are right now. It's a real shame that those Squirtle are abandoned. They could have been wonderful Pokémon."

Then, Ash spoke up. "What if I catch them?"

Upon hearing Ash's words, Jenny blinked in surprise. "Huh? Ash, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I could raise one of them," Ash replied with a smile. "Officer Jenny, I may have just become a Pokémon Trainer just weeks ago, but during those weeks, we've encountered a fair share of abandoned Pokémon as well. My Bulbasaur and Charmander were once abandoned too, until I took them in. Officer Jenny, please let me catch one of them. I promise that I will take care of it. I would never abandon a Pokémon."

Misty smiled at the boy. When she first met him, all she saw was a boy who looked like he wasn't the type that would take good care of his Pokémon. But when she did spend time with him, she found that she had misjudged him. Ash was indeed, a good Trainer who cared for his Pokémon. He took Bulbasaur and Charmander in when they were in their toughest time even while he was caring for Arcus. The boy surprised her a lot.

"You know what, I think I'll keep one of them as well," Misty said. "As a Water Pokémon Trainer, I can't just leave them too."

"Then that leaves three Squirtle," Brock spoke. "Officer Jenny, why don't you take them in? They could be helpful to you as well. You seem to care about them."

Jenny seemed to have been taken aback by Brock's words. She had never thought it herself. Sure, most her family members had Growlithe and some of the others didn't really had a Pokémon. But to have Squirtle as her Pokémon? That was an idea she found bizarre, yet she also found it appropriate. After all, she did care about the Squirtle even when they had caused problems for her and the town.

"You do raise a good point, Brock," Jenny replied. "I'll take that into consideration. Anyway, where are you kids heading to?"

"We're heading to Vermilion City so that I could win a badge," Ash replied, much to Jenny's amusement.

"It's funny," Jenny said. "Many Trainers used to pass by this area as well just to head to Vermilion City. But since the Squirtle Squad formed, the number of Trainers coming by have reduced and they've all taken a new route there. You three are one of the few who still take this path, which means much to the people of the town."

A smile formed on Misty's face. "Well, we were just following a map, but anything helps."

Jenny smiled back and she dropped the file back on the desk as she made her way to the door. "Well, I wouldn't want to keep you kids waiting now, would I? Vermilion City is just a day away, just pass a nearby lighthouse. You wouldn't miss it anyway."

"Thanks for telling us that, Officer Jenny!" Ash said as they exited the station.

"Be safe out there!" Jenny called out as she waved to them. "Remember to watch out for the Squirtle Squad. If you do find them, make sure you keep your words, kids. You promise that you'll keep a few of them and take care of them."

"We will!" Misty replied as she and the others waved back to her.

* * *

 **Somewhere nearby:**

"There! I see the brats and their little Pikachu and that Baby Pokémon!" Jessie said as she looked through her binoculars, spying on Ash and his friends as they went in the opposite direction of the police station.

However, her teammates don't seem to share her enthusiasm.

"Do you see any restaurant around here? I'm starving," Meowth spoke as James nodded in agreement.

Jessie clicked her tongue as she slapped the two boys. "Will you two focus on the task and stop worrying about food?! Besides, we have our own basket behind us so finding a restaurant is pointless."

"We do?!" Meowth exclaimed as he and James turned around, only to find that there was no basket. The Scratch Cat Pokémon turned back to Jessie with a frown. "Hey! What's the meaning of this? Look, we know you want to catch those two Pokémon, but you didn't have to give me and James false hope of food!"

"What are you talking about?" Jessie groaned as she turned around, only to see what they meant. She dropped her binoculars and stood up in shock as she looked around with her eyes darting in all directions. "Where did it go? I remember that there was a basket of sandwiches and drinks! Where did it go?!"

All of a sudden, streams of water erupted from the bushes around them, splashing Team Rocket as they fell back on their backs. Then, the Squirtle Squad appeared with one of them holding the basket that Jessie was talking about.

"You!" Jessie cried, pointing to the Squirtle with the basket of food. "So it was you who stole our lunch! Give it back to us or we'll have to use force!"

Even with Ekans's Pokéball drawn out, the Squirtle all didn't seem fazed by it. The Squirtle with the sharp-edged sunglasses waved his hand dismissively and spoke in its tongue, which the two humans of Team Rocket turned to their Meowth for translation.

"He's saying that they've faced many Pokémon before that were raised by Trainers so even if we were to send out ours, he and his friends will still beat us."

Jessie gritted her teeth. "Why that little…Ekans, go get our lunch back!"

"You too, Koffing!" James cried as he, too, released Koffing from its Pokéball.

The Squirtle all smirked as they blasted their Water Gun attack again. This time, before Ekans and Koffing could do anything, they were flung back towards their Trainers from the impact of the water. The two Pokémon crashed into Jessie and James, knocking them to the ground while Meowth charged.

"I'll teach you to mess with Meowth's lunch!" Meowth unsheathed his claws as he lunged at the leader of the Squirtle Squad, who lowered the basket and gave his fellow Squirtle a command, which they complied to as the four other Squirtle fired their Water Gun attack at Meowth.

"I ain't falling for that trick again!" Meowth cried as he leapt over the water. He crossed his arms, allowing his claws to block the water as he fell back into it. As soon as he landed on his feet, Meowth began dashing towards them. "Taste my Fury Swipes!"

One of Meowth's paw struck the Squirtle in front of him, giving him the chance to execute his Fury Swipes attack. The Squirtle stumbled back, stopping its Water Gun attack instantly as it held its hands up to its face in pain while Meowth continuously swiped his claws at it.

The leader of the Squirtle Squad frowned and ran towards Meowth, tackling the Scratch Cat Pokémon off his ally. "Squirtle! Squirtle!" He cried, which the other Squirtle all nodded to as they picked up their injured friend and took off while their leader blasted his own Water Gun.

Meowth groaned as he got up from the Tackle. His hand rubbed his chest to soothe the pain, which was when Squirtle's Water Gun attack had hit him. Since he was unprepared for the attack, he was lifted off the ground, sending him flying back towards his teammates, who grabbed him just before he had crashed into them.

"Enough of this! Ekans, use Bite!"

"Koffing, use Sludge attack!"

The two Pokémon lunged forward at the Squirtle Squad's leader, who adjusted his sharp-edged sunglasses as he leapt onto Ekans's head when it had lunged at him. At the same time, Koffing had fired a few sludge at him, which the Squirtle managed to avoid, except for the final sludge that came out from nowhere.

When the sludge had hit him, Squirtle lost his balance on Ekans's body and he fell onto the ground with the sludge covering his body.

Jessie and James wasted no time and they pulled out a net, throwing it at the Squirtle Squad's leader and lifting him off the ground. Jessie then turned to the retreating Squirtle Squad and she yelled. "Listen up, Squirtle! If you want your boss back, you're going to have to surrender now or it'll be sent to somewhere far away and never to be seen again!"

Her lips curled into a smile when she saw the Squirtle Squad stop and it grew even wider when she noticed that they were heading back towards her and her teammates. Then, she felt a paw on her thigh. Jessie turned and saw Meowth looking at her.

"What are you doing, Jessie?"

Jessie simply smiled back. "Well, I'm going to use those Squirtle."

"What does that mean?" James asked.

"It means that we'll be able to make use of those Squirtle as long as we have their leader in ours hands. And I've just came up with a brilliant idea. We can use these Squirtle to help us capture Pikachu and that Baby Pokémon."

"That really is brilliant!" James replied with a smile. "Now we have some extra firepower to combat against those twerps. But aren't we still at a disadvantage? Pikachu is an Electric type Pokémon and Squirtle are Water type Pokémon. I don't think even with these many of them, we'll still be able to steal those two."

"We still have Meowth and our own Pokémon," Jessie said. "I have a plan and you don't have to worry about it. Just trust me."

The Squirtle Squad's leader narrowed his eyes at Team Rocket and he struggled to break free of the sludge and the net, which didn't prove to be of any help as his friends soon came back. He tried to warn them about what he had heard from Jessie, but before he could do so, Koffing had shot another sludge at his mouth.

"Nice work, James," Meowth said. "This one tried to warn his pals but thanks to your Koffing, Jessie can continue her work."

"Of course," James replied. "My Koffing is extraordinary and it is capable of doing almost anything the way it should be. Good work, Koffing." The Poison Gas Pokémon smiled as it hovered over to James's side, allowing him to pat its head.

As the Squirtle Squad stopped in front of Team Rocket, Jessie raised the net containing the Squirtle Squad's leader and she spoke to them. "Now listen up! Now that your leader is in our hands, you four better do as we say or else you won't see it ever again! And you wouldn't want that, would you?" The Squirtle all looked at one another with worried and anxious looks before turning back to Jessie and shook their heads, which seemed to satisfy Jessie as she continued. "Good. Then I'll give you your first task. We want you to help us get a certain Mouse Pokémon and a Baby Pokémon…"

* * *

 **Outside of the town:**

As soon as their left the town, the group soon decided to settle down and rest near a river. They placed their backpacks down and the boys proceeded to lie down on their backs while Misty had chosen to fish. Pikachu and Beedrill were both resting on the grass as well, sandwiching Arcus in a protective manner.

"It sure is peaceful out here," Brock spoke with a sigh as he breathed in the air.

"You can say that again," Ash agreed, placing his hands behind his head as he looked up at the sky. "So do you think we'll find the Squirtle Squad before reaching Vermilion City?"

"I'm not sure," Misty said as she turned her head around. "Although they caused us problems, I'm worried about them too. Those poor Squirtle all must feel miserable when their Trainers abandoned them. I wish we could see them one more time. Then maybe we could catch a few of them and raise them ourselves."

"Speaking of raising them," Ash added. "Brock, don't you want to raise one of those Squirtle?"

"One Squirtle is already enough in my family," Brock replied with a sigh. "You see, my mother has her own Squirtle but she took it with her when she moved out after my father 'disappeared'. My mother loves Water type Pokémon but my brothers and sisters have been with Rock type Pokémon, I don't think they'll get used to having a Water type Pokémon in the house unless our mother comes home, which I doubt."

"I see. Is that why you suggested that we give the last three to Officer Jenny?" Misty asked.

"Officer Jenny might find them useful in the future," Brock explained. "Those Squirtle might have memorize the entire town by now so they would be able to travel anywhere faster and that could help her if something were to happen. And having three Squirtle would be a benefit too since she would have more hands to help her."

"Now I get it," Ash smiled. "You're thinking that the Squirtle Squad could be Officer Jenny's personal police squad!"

"Something like that," Brock chuckled, bashfully scratching his chin.

Just then, Misty felt a tug on her fishing rod and she looked towards the water, spotting a shadow emerging from the water. "I think I've got something!"

The two boys got up and ran towards her as she yanked the rod back, causing a loud splash to be heard as something emerged from the water. It was one of the Squirtle from the Squirtle Squad. Before they could react, the Squirtle had blasted a Water Gun attack at them, splashing them with water which woke the three Pokémon that were resting.

Beedrill's protective instinct kicked in and he flew up, glaring at the Squirtle who submerged itself in the water. The Poison Bee Pokémon then returned to Arcus's side, seeing the Son of Arceus shivering from the sudden coldness of air now that his fur was soaked.

Arcus then got up and he began shaking the water off his fur, which helped a little. He looked up to Beedrill and smiled to him, giving the Poison Bee Pokémon a soft grunt-like noise which reassured Beedrill that he was alright.

"Great, now I'm soaked!" Misty whined.

"You're not the only one," Ash muttered as he removed his hat.

The Squirtle soon resurfaced and it leapt out of the water, landing on the ground behind the group. It gave them a smug look and folded its arms, laughing at their drenched clothes.

"Quit laughing!" Ash cried before turning to his Mouse Pokémon. "Pikachu, use Quick Attack on that Squirtle!"

 **"You got it!"** Pikachu replied as he got on all four of his paws and charged forward, increasing his speed as a white glow emitted from his body, leaving a white trail as he lunged at the Squirtle.

The Tiny Turtle Pokémon didn't see it coming. It took the full hit from the Quick Attack and it was knocked into the air, which Ash grinned as he gave Pikachu his next command. "Nice one! Now use Thunder Shock!" Pikachu complied with Ash's command and his cheeks began generating electricity, which cackled all over his body. Then, he released the attack at Squirtle.

Seeing the bolts of electricity coming towards it, the Squirtle withdrew into its shell and it began rotating itself in the air, which deflected Pikachu's attack, sending the Thunder Shock attack in different directions. When the attack ceased, the Squirtle emerged from its shell and it blasted a second Water Gun attack at Pikachu, who leapt back towards Ash.

"Looks like it's not going to give up," Ash muttered. "Then you'll have to use Agility!" Pikachu nodded, running on all fours as he began vanishing and appearing in different spots around the Squirtle, who was shocked by Pikachu's speed. Ash smirked. "It's panicking. Pikachu, Quick Attack now!"

The Mouse Pokémon appeared behind Squirtle, who was still unaware of Pikachu's presence, and he lunged at the Tiny Turtle Pokémon, crashing into the back of its shell at an incredible speed which sent the Squirtle flying towards Ash.

"Now's my chance," Ash quickly pulled out an empty Pokéball and winded up his arm. "Pokéball, go!" He tossed the capsule at the Squirtle. However, it was knocked out of the way when a Water Gun was fired from the side.

Ash and the others turned, only to see three more Squirtle running towards them. But Ash found it weird that he didn't see the Squirtle with the sharp-edged sunglasses with them. Pushing that thought aside, Ash called out to his partner. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu complied and he began generating the electricity in his cheeks.

Then, Pikachu felt a presence behind him. As soon as he turned around, he saw Koffing. But it was too late for him to do anything as Koffing had used Tackle on him, which knocked the Mouse Pokémon on his back as he slid across the ground.

"What's a Koffing doing here?!" Ash exclaimed.

"Could it be a friend of the Squirtle Squad?" Misty asked.

At that moment, the ground beneath Pikachu gave way. From it, a long, purple figure emerged and wrapped itself around Pikachu. It was an Ekans.

"Now there's an Ekans?!"

Brock raised a brow. "If a Koffing and an Ekans are here, then I'm sure Team Rocket is behind this!"

"Right you are, twerp!" A familiar voice cried.

Ash and his friends turned around, only to see Meowth with a confused Arcus in his paws. "You dimwits fell for it! Jessie will be so proud of this plan!"

"Where's Beedrill? Wasn't he supposed to guard Arcus?" Misty asked.

"Beedrill is protecting Arcus!" Brock replied, pointing to Meowth's left, where Beedrill was blocking Water Gun attacks from the three other Squirtle. "It just didn't see Meowth coming!"

Beedrill seemed to have realized his mistake as well. But he couldn't move now that he was already defending himself against a combined attack of three Water Gun. "Damn it, Meowth!" He hissed under his breath as he felt the combined Water Gun attack pushing him back.

"Now that we have what we came for, it's time to use Smokescreen, Koffing!" Meowth yelled.

The Poison Gas Pokémon nodded as it began releasing a thick dark green smoke from the holes covering its body, which soon covered the entire area. At this moment, Koffing had flew off while Meowth, with Arcus still in his paws, and the Squirtle all fled and Ekans dived back into the hole it came from with Pikachu still wrapped around its body.

"Pidgeotto, we need you now!" Ash took out the Bird Pokémon's Pokéball and Pidgeotto emerged from it, flying out of the smoke as Ash gave him a command. "Use Whirlwind to blow away the smoke!" Pidgeotto did as he was told, flapping his wings as he created his Whirlwind attack.

The smoke dispersed and faded away, but they were too late. Meowth and the others were long gone, except for the Squirtle that Pikachu had fought. The Squirtle was still lying on the ground with its head pressed against the ground. When it got up, it quickly withdrew into its shell when it saw Ash and the others around it.

"I'll need you to translate for me, Pidgeotto," Ash said, receiving a nod from the Bird Pokémon as he picked up the shell and spoke to the Tiny Turtle Pokémon. "Why are you helping Team Rocket, Squirtle? Don't you know that they're the bad guys?"

The Squirtle didn't came out. Instead, it spoke while still hiding in its shell which Pidgeotto began translating as soon as he perched himself on Ash's outstretched arm. **"Looks like the Squirtle Squad's leader was captured by Team Rocket. They're following Team Rocket's orders because they threatened to send their leader somewhere far away. That's why they took Pikachu and Arcus."**

"So Team Rocket really is up to no good again," Misty sighed. "When do those guys even learn? So what do we do now, Ash?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ash replied. "We get Pikachu and Arcus back. But we'll need some help. Brock, why don't you go get Officer Jenny with Squirtle. Misty and I will try to get the Squirtle Squad on our side."

"But how will we do that?" Misty asked.

"We'll just have to free their leader from Team Rocket first," Ash said before turning to the Squirtle. "So where are they at?" The Squirtle simply pointed towards the cluster of trees that was located just outside of the town.

"Now that we know where they are, I'll go get Officer Jenny," Brock replied as he ran off with Squirtle close by. "We'll try and get her there as fast as we can!"

As the two disappeared from sight, Ash turned to Misty and Pidgeotto. "We have to get Pikachu and Arcus back. And I know a plan which I think might work. I'll need your help as well, Beedrill. What do you say?"

In response, Ash received a nod from Beedrill, which he took as a nod of understanding.

* * *

 **Near the town:**

The two humans of Team Rocket smiled with satisfaction as Pikachu was brought forward by Ekans, who unwrapped its tail from Pikachu and Jessie picked it up. "James, get the cage!"

James brought out a small cage and placed it beside her. "One insulated cage, just the way you wanted it."

The cage opened and Jessie tossed the Mouse Pokémon into it, laughing as she turned to the Squirtle Squad. "Well done, Squirtle Squad. Your leader would be proud of you for what you did."

"Squirtle! Squirtle! Squirt!" One of the Squirtle cried with anger as it gestured to its leader, who had been transferred from the net to a locked cage.

Meowth translated for Jessie. "He's saying that they did our dirty work for us, so we should release their leader."

"Now what would I want to do?" Jessie muttered to herself. "Should I let the Squirtle go and just keep Pikachu and the baby Pokémon or should I keep them both AND use the Squirtle Squad to our disposal while we still hang on to their leader? I think the choice would be simple. The Squirtle Squad's leader remains with us!"

Hearing this, the Squirtle Squad gritted their teeth as Jessie cackled. "Do you really think that we want you to do something that simple? Of course not! As long as you do as we say, we won't do anything to your leader. I would say that is already a win-win situation because you still get to see your leader and we get whatever we want while you do our dirty work for us."

Of course, the Squirtle Squad wasn't happy with Jessie. But what could they do? If they were to attack them, they would probably use their leader as a shield to get them to behave anyway. Not only that, one of their other members was missing as well because of the earlier smokescreen which didn't give them enough time to take their other member back.

Their leader wasn't excited about it either. For once, he was powerless. He thought he could do anything, but this incident just showed how flawed he was. He overestimated his and his friends' abilities. Because of that, he ended up being used by Team Rocket to manipulate the Squirtle Squad. And they used his friends to steal Pikachu from his Trainer and even the Son of Arceus, which made Squirtle shiver at what else they might make the Squirtle Squad do next.

However, he noticed something hiding within the trees around them. His eyes looked through his sunglasses and spotted four figures watching them. A Butterfree, a Pidgeotto and two Beedrill. Then, he noticed that one of the Beedrill had a brace with a small jewel-like sphere that had a three-claw mark on it covering its chest, which Squirtle remembered seeing from before when he and his friends had 'tricked' the Pikachu's Trainer into falling into their pitfall. It was the mark of the Chosen One, which Squirtle had once thought was a myth.

The marked Beedrill turned his head towards the others and signaled them with its head, which the other three nodded back to before silently retreating farther back into the trees.

 _"Oh no,"_ Squirtle thought. _"The Son of Arceus's Chosen One must be planning something. Whatever he's doing, I hope it doesn't involve me in it."_

Fortunately, Team Rocket had not noticed anything since they were busy celebrating the capture of Pikachu while Jessie was proudly holding the Son of Arceus in her arms. "I can't believe we didn't catch you long ago! The softness of your fur is so exquisite! I think I might just keep you for myself!" Jessie smiled as she lifted Arcus up, who tilted his head in confusion.

"Hey, Jessie," Meowth spoke. "Mind taking of the brace it's wearing? I want to try it on. It might look good on me."

Jessie shrugged. "Oh, let me see." She fiddled with the Universal Brace on Arcus's arm and it made a clicking noise, causing the bottom of the brace to snap open. Jessie removed the brace and tossed it over to Meowth. "Here you go. Try it on."

"Thanks!" Meowth replied as he pressed the device against his own arm. The Universal Brace snapped shut, securing itself on his arm. To him, it felt weird at first when a strange sensation filled his body. He stared at the stone on it, which he noticed was similar to a jewel. A smile formed on his face as he unsheathed one of his claw and proceeded to force the stone out of the brace.

"What are you doing, Meowth?" James asked.

"I'm trying to get this jewel out of this brace," Meowth replied as he struggled to remove the stone. "Can you imagine the amount of cash we might get for selling it? We could be rich!"

"Rich?!" Jessie repeated as she turned around to face the Scratch Cat Pokémon with a look of hunger, a hunger for cash. She dropped Arcus and shoved Meowth's paw aside and she placed two fingers on the stone. "Let me try!" Jessie yanked the stone, but it wouldn't budge. "What's wrong with this jewel? Why won't it come off?!"

The Squirtle Squad and its leader sighed at the scene. This was far worse than they had thought. They were working for a greedy bunch, against their own free wills! Now, the leader of the Squad was hoping that the Son of Arceus's Chosen one was planning a rescue. After all, Arcus was in their hands and there was no other way to get him back. He had to come back, and the Squirtle Squad might be released alongside him as well. This was his guess, and he was going to bet on it.

Moments later, the Squirtle Squad's leader felt a soft tap on his cage and he quickly turned his head around, only to see the Butterfree from before. This time, he noticed that the Butterfree had a device that was placed on the side of his head as well. The Butterfree tapped the device, which Squirtle assume that he was switching it off. The Butterfree then whispered to it.

"Don't worry, I'm here to get you out. Just tell your friends to not make any noise."

In that instant, Squirtle thought to himself that this was the work of the marked Beedrill, which he didn't bother to ask. Instead, he asked. "How are you going to break me out of this cage? It's locked."

The Butterfree smirked, lifting one of his hands up to reveal a key. "Those three left the key in the open, thinking that they were save. They were wrong." As soon as he unlocked the cage, Squirtle emerged from it and turned to looked at the cage that Pikachu was in, which was now empty. He turned back to the Butterfree, who said. "Pikachu was released from the cage before you. Now let get out of here before we get caught."

"What about the Son of Arceus?" Squirtle asked, pointing towards Arcus, whose body was strangely shivering even as they speak.

"He's too close to Team Rocket," Butterfree replied. "We can still rescue him but we'll have to meet up with my Trainer first. Now follow me." Butterfree hopped off the ground, flapping his wings as he flew into the cover of the trees, followed by the Squirtle Squad as they sneakily circled around Team Rocket before making a beeline forward from where they were at.

After a minute of running, they soon spotted a boy, the same boy that Squirtle remembered as Pikachu's Trainer and a girl, Misty.

Butterfree perched himself on the Trainer's outstretched arm and activated the device on the side of his head. **"I've brought the Squirtle Squad, Ash."**

Ash smiled at the Butterfly Pokémon and pulled out a Pokéball. "Great job, Butterfree. Take a rest, you deserve it." A red light emitted from the capsule, reabsorbing Butterfree as his body entered the Pokéball. Once he kept Butterfree's Pokéball, Ash walked towards the Squirtle Squad. He knelt down on one of his knees and he spoke to them. "I heard from one of your friend, Squirtle. I'm glad my Butterfree got you out of their hands!"

Squirtle didn't know how to respond to him. He simply gave a nod.

"Now how would you like to get back at Team Rocket? Want to help us out?"

This, however, caught Squirtle off-guard. It was an offer he couldn't refuse. He had thought of getting back at Team Rocket, but he didn't expect the time to be right away. It was sudden, but he wanted it. He reached for Ash's hand and the two shook, agreeing on teaming up together.

At that moment, a motorcycle had parked behind them and they turned around to see Officer Jenny with Brock and the Squirtle Squad's last member. As the Squirtle Squad rejoiced at their reunion, Brock approached Ash and Misty. "Looks like I made it just in time. I've brought Officer Jenny as well. So what's the plan, Ash?"

Once everyone had gathered, Ash explained. "The only one who needs to be rescued now is Arcus. Part one of my plan is done and now is part two. We fight back. But that's only if the real plan fails. Squirtle Squad, you guys distract Team Rocket. Misty, Brock, we'll try and rescue Arcus from them and if Meowth of Team Rocket's other Pokémon are out there, I'm sure Pikachu and Beedrill will be able to handle them now that the Squirtle Squad is on our side."

"That sounds like a good plan, Ash," Misty said. "I didn't really expect that from you."

Ash frowned. "Oh really? Then too bad. So let's get started. We have a Baby Pokémon to save."

"But what do I do?" Officer Jenny asked.

"Do what you usually do, Officer Jenny," Ash replied. "When we beat them, you can arrest them."

* * *

 **Back with Team Rocket:**

As Jessie struggled to yank the stone out of the Universal Brace again, her fingers slipped and she let go of Meowth's arm as she fell on her back. "Why can't we get that stone out?!"

"Don't look at me," Meowth said. "My claws nearly broke from trying to pull it out. It's not going to budge!"

James sighed. "Can't we just sell the brace? It would still make money too, you know. We might get much more cash if we just sell the whole thing."

"Are you kidding me?" Meowth protested as he brought his arm close to him, as if he was protecting the Universal Brace. "This thing looks good on me. I ain't going to let it go that easily."

"Are you seriously going to let that thing get in the way of us making money?" Jessie questioned, which only made Meowth more furious as the three began arguing against one another.

Then, they were approached by the Squirtle Squad, without their leader. The argument halted as the three turned to them and Jessie flicked her hair to the side. "Oh right, you four are still here. Go and fetch us some food from the town, will you? It's your specialty, isn't it?"

"Squirtle, Squirt!" One of the Squirtle spoke.

"What did it say?" James asked, turning to Meowth.

"He's saying that they want to talk about joining us."

This caught the attention of the two humans as a smirk formed on Jessie's face. "Oh? You want to join us, is that right? What's with the sudden change of attitude?" The Squirtle spoke again and Jessie turned to Meowth, who began to translate the Squirtle's words.

"He's saying that they want to come along with us and help us. They're bored of the town and they want to try doing something more exciting than stealing, like joining us."

James's eyes lit up with excitement. "Well aren't they such flatterers. What do you say, Jessie?"

"I don't know," Jessie replied, raising an eyebrow. "I find this too suspicious. Why would they want to join us when they're loyal to their leader? It doesn't make sense that they would give up on their leader this easily."

The Squirtle Squad was nervous. Jessie was on to them. Ash's plan was already going to fail if they screw this distraction up. Thanks to their sunglasses, they could look in another direction without worrying about being noticed by Team Rocket. They spotted Ash and Pikachu slowly making their way towards Arcus, who was now lying on the ground with his eyes shut and his teeth grinding against each other.

However, as the two took another step forward, the ground cracked and Jessie's Ekans emerged from it, hissing at the two as Team Rocket turned around.

"The twerps?!" Meowth gasped.

Jessie scoffed. "I knew keeping Ekans out was a good idea. And to think you would be able to find us in here. Now hand Pikachu back to us, boy. Unless you want to have a battle with us."

Ash simply smirked at them. "Oh yeah? Squirtle Squad, use Water Gun on Team Rocket!" Instantly, Team Rocket was blasted from the back by the Squirtle Squad, which knocked them on their fronts as they felt their backs getting drenched from the attack.

Jessie was furious at this point. "I've had it with you, twerp! Ekans, Bite attack!" The Snake Pokémon lunged forward with its mouth wide opened and teeth bore as it came closer to Pikachu. However, Pikachu was able to dodge the attack by jumping to his side.

"Quick attack!"

Pikachu got on all fours as he lunged himself at Ekans, crashing into the Snake Pokémon at an incredible speed that sent Ekans crashing into the ground while Pikachu landed safely on his feet. But Ekans wasn't done yet.

"Use Bite again!" Jessie said as she picked up Arcus from the ground before turning back to James. "Don't just stand there, James. Call your Koffing out and help my Ekans!"

"R-right! Koffing, come out and use Sludge on Pikachu!"

As Koffing emerged from its Pokéball, it fired multiple sludge at Pikachu, who swiftly avoided each of them by using Agility. Within moments, Pikachu was in front of the two Pokémon, which shocked them as he charged up a Thunder Shock attack.

James immediately ordered an attack. "Quick, Koffing! While Pikachu's charging up the attack, use Tackle!"

Jessie caught on James's plan and she went with it. "You too, Ekans! Use your Bite on Pikachu's tail!"

Koffing lunged itself, hurling its body onto Pikachu, which knocked him off the ground and disrupting his attack, giving Ekans enough time to slither towards the Mouse Pokémon and biting down on Pikachu's tail, causing him to yelp in pain.

"Don't give in to the pain, Pikachu!" Ash yelled. "Use Ekans's weight against it!" Pikachu, understanding what Ash meant, nodded as he rotated his body backwards, which brought Ekans up into the air before Pikachu slammed the Snake Pokémon back onto the ground, causing Ekans to release its grip on his tail.

Once he was free, Pikachu leapt forward and held onto the Koffing. "Now use Thunder Shock!" As soon as Pikachu heard Ash's command, he released his attack, electrocuting Koffing, causing it to fall onto the ground.

"Squirtle Squad, use Water Gun!"

The Squirtle Squad complied to Ash's command and they blasted their Water Gun attack, combined with their leader's Water Gun as well now that he has entered the fray to help them out.

However, Jessie had her shield. She turned around and lifted Arcus up, which made the Squirtle Squad redirect their attacks. But they were not quick enough. Their attacks could not be redirected in time and everyone braced themselves as they watch the Water Gun neared Arcus while Jessie looked away.

…

…

…

Nothing happened.

The attacks had stopped inches away from Arcus's face, as if they were frozen in the air. Then, a faint blue aura was emitted from Arcus and the combined Water Gun attack faded into non-existence. Following that, Arcus let out a loud roar which scared Jessie, causing her to drop him.

Arcus's blue aura glowed brightly this time. Water soon appeared beneath him and it swirled around his body as his roars of pain continued. The water soon engulfed him, as if he was trapped within a whirlpool.

"What's going on?!" Jessie exclaimed as she backed away from the Baby Pokémon.

"Misty, what's happening to Arcus?" Ash asked as he turned to Misty, who shook his head.

"I have no idea!" Misty replied. "I've never seen anything like this. All of the Water Pokémon I have with me have never done anything like this!"

Electricity soon cackled along the water surrounding Arcus and the whirlpool expanded, causing everyone to panic. Then, rocks protruded from the ground around him, forming a protective circle around the Son of Arceus before exploding, sending shards of rock flying in all direction as everyone struggled to escape the sudden attack.

Another roar came from Arcus and the whirlpool dispersed. The aura around him brightened and the electricity formed a lightning bolt, a huge one. Within moments, the lightning bolt was sent towards Team Rocket, who huddled close to each other in fear as the bolt of electricity collided with them, sending them flying into the sky while the Universal Brace had fallen back on the ground after the bolt had caused it to snap open.

With Team Rocket now gone, Ash and the others knew that half the problems were now gone but the main problem at the moment was Arcus.

"Anyone got any ideas on what's going on and how we can stop Arcus?" Brock yelled over the painful roars from the Baby Pokémon.

"This must be the power outburst that A warned me about," Ash said. Then, he realized that the Universal Brace wasn't on Arcus's arm. "Team Rocket must have removed the brace on Arcus's arm. We need the brace to stop Arcus!"

Hearing this, the leader of the Squirtle Squad spotted the Universal Brace on the ground, just a few meters away from him. In that instant, he dashed forward, arms stretched out to grab the brace, only to be repelled by the shards of rock from before, knocking him off the ground as well as the Squirtle Squad behind him. What the Squirtle Squad was unaware of was the lightning bolt that was aimed at their leader.

"Squirtle!" Ash cried out as he jumped, grabbing the Squirtle Squad's leader and holding him close to his chest as he shifted his body so that the bolt will strike his back, which it did. Ash let out a scream and he fell on his side as soon as he crashed onto the ground while the Squirtle Squad was saved by Misty, Brock and Officer Jenny.

"Are you alright, Squirtle?" Ash asked, still dazed from the bolt as Pikachu ran to his side. Squirtle just stared back at him. Ash's action was something he had not expected from him. It was an act of courage, bravery and compassion, something which Squirtle had not seen before in humans.

 **"Ash, the brace is in the middle of us and Arcus. We can't reach it without getting hit by the attack that Arcus is creating,"** Pikachu spoke.

"Then how will we reach it?"

Just then, Beedrill appeared, flying towards the Universal Brace. The mark on his chest glowed, causing the nearby shards of rock to scatter when he passed them. Beedrill soon reached the brace, without a single scratch on him, and he flew over to Arcus.

"I've failed to protect you again, Arcus," Beedrill muttered as he carefully placed the Universal Brace on Arcus's arm. "I hope Arceus will forgive me, again." The brace snapped, securing itself onto Arcus's arm and the sphere-like stone glowed.

As soon as it did, the aura emitted from Arcus's body disappeared, and his roars of pain stopped. The Baby Pokémon was completely exhausted as he collapsed onto the ground, falling onto his side. But before it could happen, Beedrill had stopped the fall with the blunt side of his front stingers.

The shards of rock all fell onto the ground and the electricity around Arcus faded, bringing relief over to everyone as Ash and Pikachu ran over to Beedrill, where the Poison Bee Pokémon gently lowered Arcus onto Ash's arms. The boy could see that Arcus was heavily panting and was beginning to sweat. He turned to Beedrill and smiled to him. "Thanks for your help, Beedrill. But how did you not get hit by any of the attacks?"

Beedrill shrugged and spoke to Pikachu, who translated to Ash. **"Beedrill's saying that he has no idea too. All he did was trust his instincts and dived in to get the brace for Arcus."**

"Whatever the reason, I'm glad that it worked out now that Arcus is safe," Ash said as he turned around, seeing the Squirtle Squad huddled up, sharing a group hug as they shed tears of joy. Ash approached them and the leader of the Squirtle Squad turned to him, folding his arms as Ash spoke to him. "You were brave back there, Squirtle. You risked yourself just to get the brace back to help Arcus. That took a lot of guts, something that I like a lot. How about it, Squirtle? Would you like to come join me?"

Ash stretched out his hand to the leader of the Squirtle Squad and the Tiny Turtle Pokémon took a step back in surprise from the offer. This boy, who he had tried to trap in a pitfall just hours ago, was willing to take him in as his Pokémon. Just like his friends, he listened to the tone in Ash's voice, and it was filled with sincerity. He was lying to him.

Squirtle simply looked at Ash's hand and then turned to his friends, who all gave him a nod, saying that he should take the offer. Squirtle smiled to them and nodded back as he turned to Ash and took a step forward. Then, he removed his sunglasses, revealing his teary eyes as he shook Ash's hand. "Squirtle! Squirtle!"

Ash smiled at the Squirtle and he took out an empty Pokéball and tapped it gently on Squirtle's forehead, causing the Tiny Turtle Pokémon to be absorbed into the capsule. The Pokéball shook for a few moment but it stopped afterwards, successfully capturing Squirtle. In that instant, the Pokéball vanished from Ash's hand and he smiled, knowing that it was heading to Professor Oak's lab.

Misty and Officer Jenny also approached the Squirtle Squad, and they locked eyes with one another as Misty smiled at the Squirtle that was looking at her. "Why don't you come along with me too? I'm sure that I can raise you to become a strong Water Pokémon. How about it?"

The Squirtle in question stared at Misty for a moment, thinking of its options and it quickly pushed all thoughts aside. It knew what it wanted to begin with. It's time in the Squirtle Squad was amazing, but it was time that it let go of the past. It leapt into Misty's waiting arms and it sobbed with joy as its sunglasses fell onto the ground while Misty captured it with an empty Pokéball she was carrying.

The remaining Squirtle all turned to Officer Jenny, who had her hands on her waist as she spoke. "You three are strong, capable Pokémon. You have a lot of potential in you guys. You three just happened to be picked by Trainers who don't care about you. But if you three follow me, I'm sure you three will be able to become stronger and instead of tricking people, you can help people for a change. How would you three like to be part of my team? This town might need you three someday and it can start now."

Hearing Jenny speak, the remaining Squirtle all smiled and ran over to her where they embraced and Jenny continued. "Then from now on, you three are the reformed Squirtle Squad and I am proud to be working alongside Pokémon such as yourselves."

As the newly reformed Squirtle Squad cheered, Jenny turned to Ash. "I'd suggest you make your way to Vermilion City as soon as you can and let Nurse Joy take a look at it. That Pokémon of yours could have done some serious damage if you hadn't prevented it."

"Will do, Officer Jenny," Ash replied as he watched her smile and leave with the three remaining Squirtle. Then, he faced Misty and Brock. "I guess it's time that we leave as well. It's time I face the Vermilion City Gym."

* * *

 **Me: It's official, this is the longest chapter I have ever written on this site! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I did when I wrote it. Tell me how you guys find it? Also, I have another question for you guys. Do you want Ash to keep Butterfree or should he release him? I'll leave the answer up to you guys!**

 **Arcus: Come back soon for the next chapter, which might come out next week!**


	13. The lighthouse and the Dragonite

**Chapter 11: The lighthouse and the Dragonite**

 **Me: Here's~the next chapter! Hope you guys will enjoy it!**

 **Arcus: Let's head to the disclaimer.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon but I do own Arcus and any other OCs in this story.**

* * *

 **Response to Guest review:**

 **Guest: Well, to me, that wouldn't be much fun since Damian would be hiding until it stopped, so Arcus wouldn't be able to do anything to him. And yes, Arcus will be able to use his human form again once he becomes more stronger.**

* * *

 **Pokémon on hand:**

 **Ash - Pikachu(M), Butterfree(M), Pidgeotto(M), Beedrill(M), Bulbasaur(M), Charmander(M). At Oak's lab - Zubat(M), Squirtle(M)**

 **Misty - Starmie, Staryu, Goldeen(F), Squirtle(M)**

 **Brock - Onix(M), Geodude(M), Zubat(M)**

* * *

Now that two Squirtle had joined the group, they continued on their way to Vermilion City. Currently, Brock was at the front, leading the group as he was the one who had the map. Behind him were Misty, who had her newly caught Squirtle in her arms, Beedrill, Pikachu, and Ash, who had a worried look on his face as he would occasionally glance down at Arcus, who was still completely worn out from the sudden power outburst earlier in the day.

"We should be coming up on the lighthouse that Officer Jenny was talking about," Brock spoke as he looked up from the map. "If we're lucky, we might be able to reach it before nightfall."

Misty yawned. "I hope we do reach the lighthouse. I'm sick of sleeping in sleeping bags, Brock. I just want to fall on a bed for once and sleep through the night after dinner."

The Pokémon Breeder sweat dropped at Misty. "I…don't think the lighthouse will have enough beds for all of us, Misty. After all, a lighthouse usually only has one person in it and that's the keeper of the lighthouse. But even if that's the case, we'll have to ask."

Misty then turned back to Ash and smiled to him. "So how do you feel after catching all three of the starters, Ash?" Silence was all she received from the boy, which made her felt annoyed. She asked again, this time it was louder, which finally caught Ash's attention.

Ash blinked in surprise as he looked up at Misty. "Oh, uh…I'm just glad I caught all three of them. But right now, all I'm worried about is Arcus. He's been through a lot today."

Just after leaving the town, Ash had his Pokémon search the area for Oran Berries, which they were able to find. However, even with a Super Potion that Brock had in his backpack, Arcus was still worn out. This has made both Ash and Beedrill worried.

"We'll ask the lighthouse keeper if he has anything that would help Arcus as well," Brock replied. "You and Beedrill aren't the only ones who are worried about Arcus, Ash. All of us are. We've been with Arcus ever since he hatched and he's grown on us. But keeping that attitude will just give you more stress. You have to relax too, or you might fall sick before we even get to Vermilion City and you know that Gary would have already beat the Gym by now."

Hearing the name of Professor Oak's grandson, Ash couldn't help but feel irritated by it. But he had to admit it, Gary had a head start from the beginning. He had woken up earlier than Ash and had already gotten his Pokémon. Not only that, Gary also had a car, which would make sense that he would be faster than Ash since it was faster than going to each gym on foot.

"Even if Gary's beaten the gym, I can still catch up to him!"

"We know you will," Brock replied as he looked back at the map. "Oh look, it seems that we're closer to the lighthouse. The map shows that the path to the lighthouse is close by. But then again, it also says that there's a shortcut and that's through a beach."

"Did I hear you say a beach?" Misty's eyes glittered with excitement as she walked up to Brock. "Where is that path?"

Brock stopped, causing the others to do the same as they looked at him. The Pokémon Breeder then turned his body to his left and he looked up from the map. "It's just right through here, apparently." The others gathered close to Brock as they stared at the direction he was looking at. Then, a sound reached their ears and Misty couldn't help but squeal in delight.

"I hear it! I hear the ocean waves," she said as she embraced the Squirtle in her arms tighter.

"What are we waiting for? Let's get moving!" Brock added, taking off in the direction before the others could. He was quickly followed by Misty and her Squirtle while Ash, Pikachu and Beedrill strolled down the path.

Ash turned his head to the Beedrill, who was looking around. The Poison Bee Pokémon was hovering protectively beside him, or Arcus to be exact. Beedrill's eyes were locked on their surroundings, making sure that nothing would jump out to attack. Ash had noticed that Beedrill was also irritated, but he had no idea why though.

"Is everything alright, Beedrill?" Ash asked.

The Poison Bee Pokémon didn't respond to him. Beedrill acted as if Ash's words was just the wind blowing by. But Ash didn't mind it. He knew that the Poison Bee Pokémon still hated humans and he understood why thanks to Pikachu, so he didn't push it. Instead, he took out his own Beedrill's Pokéball and called him out. Ash then tilted his head, gesturing towards Beedrill and telling his own Beedrill to speak to it.

Ash's Beedrill understood what he had meant and his Beedrill hovered over to his friend. **"Is something wrong?"**

"Turn it off," Beedrill said.

The captured Beedrill understood what his friend was telling and he tapped his right stinger on his translator, switching it off. "Better?" His friend nodded and Ash's Beedrill continued. "So, tell me what's wrong."

"Again, I have failed to protect Arcus from being captured by Team Rocket," Beedrill said. "I was outsmarted by Meowth. He used the Squirtle Squad to distract me so that he could take Arcus when he was vulnerable and look what happened after that, Arcus had a power outburst."

Ash's Beedrill sighed. "Again with the failure thing…friend, cut yourself some slack. It wasn't your fault. There was no way that you could have been in two places at once. So what if you got outsmarted? I'm sure you'll come up with a good strategy next time. Besides, if I remember correctly, the attack that distracted you was also directed at Arcus, wasn't it? Doesn't that mean that you were doing your duty?"

"I…" Beedrill was at a loss of words. His friend was right. He had done his duty, it was just that he couldn't be at two places at once. That's when he finally realized that he didn't had to feel bad. He admit, it was a good strategy to steal Arcus since it was just him who was protecting Arcus.

"You're right," he said to Ash's Beedrill. "I'm just one Beedrill. I just thought that since I was one of the Chosen Ones, I could protect Arcus by myself. I overestimated myself by thinking that I could do it and it caused harm to Arcus."

"Nobody is perfect, friend," Ash's Beedrill replied. "Arceus may have selected you as a Chosen One, but that doesn't mean that you have to be perfect in every way. That's why there are multiple Chosen Ones, and they are yet to be discovered by you and Arcus."

Beedrill nodded. "I understand. That's why I'm looking forward to seeing the next Chosen One who's going to appear soon. Then I can rely on that Chosen One to help me."

"You're still missing a point," Ash's Beedrill stated, earning a confused look from his friend. "You can still rely on many other Pokémon. Remember, we were all created by Arceus. It is because of that, you can seek us for help. Pokémon who attack Arcus are those who don't know who he is, or they are influenced by their Trainers. After all, Pokémon only do bad things if their Trainer does it. Isn't that also why you're trying to reach out to Team Rocket's Meowth? So that you could help him?"

"Yes," Beedrill replied. "That Meowth is just lost and I know I can bring it back to the right path. But if I had to rely on other Pokémon to help me protect Arcus, then wouldn't my duty be meaningless since it is shared with them?"

Ash's Beedrill shook his head. "Your duty is to protect Arcus, but that mark you have probably means that you will be following Arcus throughout his time, unlike those who aren't chosen. Others, such as myself and Ash's other Pokémon, are also meant to protect Arcus, but it is only when we are needed to aid the Chosen Ones like you. Basically, we are your plan B if the Chosen Ones are not enough to protect Arcus. And without more Chosen Ones to protect Arcus right now, I think you should go with the plan as well."

Though he didn't want to admit, he had to. Beedrill sighed in defeat to his friend. "I guess I can rely on the other Pokémon that the humans have. But it will only be temporary until the next Chosen One appears."

"Just remember, Ash will always have your back. He's been trying to be nice to you and you've been denying it this whole time. Just lighten up, will you? You might come to like him once you get to know him a little better."

Beedrill snorted at the thought of befriending a human and he eyed is friend. "I've said this many times, friend. Nothing can change my mind about humans. They will always abandon their Pokémon and in time, he might abandon you as well."

"You can't blame all of humanity just because of a handful of Trainers who abandon their Pokémon. There will always be those that care for Pokémon and those that don't. Like I said, nobody is perfect. You can't see the world in your own perspective. If you get to know Ash and the other two humans, you'll see that they're not like those Trainers we see in the Viridian Forest."

"We'll see," Beedrill muttered as they pushed aside the bushes in front of them, revealing the beach that Brock had been talking about.

Misty's Squirtle was in the water, enjoying itself as it splashed around in the water while its Trainer was trying her best to persuade it to get out.

The Pokémon Breeder approached Ash and pointed to the boy's right. "There's the lighthouse over there. All we do is walk there and we'll probably reach it in half an hour."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Brock pointed his thumb towards Misty' Squirtle and whispered to him. "That Squirtle doesn't want to get out. My guess is that it's been a while since it came to a beach. So unless it's tired or something else, we can't go anywhere right now."

"So why doesn't Misty just call it back in its Pokéball?"

"She doesn't want to," Brock replied. "Misty said that she wanted to carry the Squirtle to the lighthouse so she didn't want to return it to its Pokéball."

Ash sighed as he raised his hand to his forehead. "That pride of hers will be trouble for her own self one day."

Just then, Misty's Squirtle yelped in pain as it jumped out of the water and into Misty's waiting arms. She, like the others, were confused at why the Squirtle would suddenly do such a thing. But it all became clear when they noticed something attached to the Tiny Turtle Pokémon's tail.

The 'thing' which was hanging onto Squirtle's tail was a crab-like Pokémon, whose upper shell was red, containing two small spikes facing upwards on the top of its head. Its lower body was light tan and doubles as its jaw with two fangs overlapping its upper body. Its hips were visible on the lower front of its body connected to its long, thin legs, which have small, claw-like feet. The Pokémon also had large, red pincers, which was what it used to hang onto Squirtle.

"Ah!" Misty screamed. "It's a Krabby! Squirtle, swing yourself around and use Withdraw!" As soon as she let go of the Tiny Turtle Pokémon, it began rotating its body as it landed on the ground. Then, Squirtle withdrew its entire body into its shell, causing Krabby's pincer to clash with it before being knocked away by Squirtle.

Once Krabby was off, Squirtle came back out of its shell and leapt back into Misty's arms while the girl backed away to regroup with her friends. "We must be in its territory, guys. Maybe we should take our leave right now."

However, Ash had a smile on his face, something that was missing for the past few hours, as he took a step forward. "This might be what I need to get my mind off today's incident. I'm going to catch that Krabby!" He turned to the Mouse Pokémon and his Beedrill. "You two take a break. I haven't got a chance to use Bulbasaur in a battle yet so I'm going to try him out for now."

 **"Go ahead, Ash. We won't mind,"** Pikachu replied, receiving a nod of agreement from Ash's Beedrill.

Ash reached for his belt, where he picked out Bulbasaur's Pokéball. As the capsule expanded in his hand, he tossed it towards Krabby and it split open, releasing a bright light that soon formed the Seed Pokémon.

"I'm counting on you, Bulbasaur. Let's catch Krabby!"

Bulbasaur simply nodded to his Trainer as he turned to face the River Crab Pokémon, who was beginning to foam at its mouth, clearly an act of defense since Bulbasaur was bigger than it was. Bulbasaur, too, went into his defensive stance since he had no idea what Krabby might do.

In a flash, Krabby lunged forward at the Seed Pokémon.

"Krabby's made the first move, Bulbasaur. We'll use Tackle to knock it back!"

The Seed Pokémon complied with Ash's command, charging towards the River Crab Pokémon with his head lowered. He ran forward without missing a single beat. It was certainly going to hit Krabby. However…

They had expected something from Krabby, but this was not what they had imagined. The River Crab Pokémon had leapt over Bulbasaur, just as they were about to collide with each other. Not only that, Krabby had opened one of its pincers, and it had snapped it onto the tip of his bulb. Before they had realized it, Krabby had used the Seed Pokémon's weight against him by tossing Bulbasaur back towards Ash.

"What was that?" The boy asked, turning to Brock for an answer.

"I'm pretty sure that was supposed to be Vice Grip, a move where Krabby grabs its opponent with its pincer. But I have never seen a Krabby do that before."

Ash couldn't help but smile wider when he heard that. "That makes this Krabby more special. Now I really want to catch it! Alright, Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip to entangle its pincers. Then slam it as hard as you can!"

 **"With pleasure,"** Bulbasaur replied with a smirk. The attack had been unexpected and he was going to repay the favor to the River Crab Pokémon. He wasted no time, releasing his vines as they wrapped around Krabby's pincers. Just as Bulbasaur was about to lift Krabby up, he noticed that Krabby had somewhat ignored his vines, as if they didn't even exist, and that irritated the Seed Pokémon.

Then, Krabby pulled its pincers back and opened its pincers, snapping them as soon as Bulbasaur's vines came close enough to them. The Seed Pokémon winced from the pain but it ignored Bulbasaur's pain and yanked the vines, causing Bulbasaur to be lifted off the ground and was flung towards Krabby.

"Don't give in, Bulbasaur! Tackle it!"

Bulbasaur blinked when he heard that. It wasn't a bad idea, but it was something that he had not really thought of. Nevertheless, Bulbasaur did so by aligning his body towards Krabby and lowering his head as he neared the River Crab Pokémon.

When Bulbasaur collided with Krabby, the River Crab Pokémon couldn't help but blink in shock from the attack. Just like Brock and Misty, it didn't believed that Bulbasaur's attack would really hit it, but the attack really did. Now, Krabby was starting to believe that it had met its match. It glared at Bulbasaur and its eyes quickly glowed.

"Careful, Ash! It's using its Leer attack on Bulbasaur!" Misty cried.

"Don't worry," Ash called back to her before turning to Bulbasaur. "Close your eyes!"

As soon as Bulbasaur closed his eyes, Krabby lunged forward with its right pincer outstretched in an attempt to perform a Vice Grip on the Seed Pokémon. Unfortunately, it had forgotten that Ash was also Bulbasaur's eyes.

"Bulbasaur, Krabby's coming towards you. Use Vine Whip to stop it!"

His vines sprouted out once more, flying towards Krabby. The vines curled and slammed into the River Crab Pokémon, causing its advances to halt as it skidded across the sand. At that moment, Bulbasaur opened his eyes and Ash gave him his next command.

"Now use Razor Leaf!"

Razor-sharp leaves emerged from underneath the Seed Pokémon's bulb and the leaves flew towards Krabby, causing damage to the River Crab Pokémon as the leaves collided with its body. Krabby endured the attack, but it was too much for it. When the last leaf struck its body, Krabby was knocked into the air.

Ash smiled. "Time to catch it. Go, Pokéball!" He pulled out an empty Pokéball from his pocket and he tossed it towards the River Crab Pokémon. Once the capsule had made contact with the Krabby, it was absorbed into the Pokéball. The capsule fell onto the sand, with the button in the middle of it blinking red. The Pokéball shook for a few moments, which made everyone anxious as they awaited for it to stop.

Then, it did. The capsule had stopped shaking and the blinking red light had ceased. Krabby was successfully captured.

"Alright! We caught a Krabby!" Ash cried as he picked up the Pokéball, which soon vanished from his hand, making its way to Professor Oak. He turned his head towards Bulbasaur and gave the Seed Pokémon a smile as he returned him to his Pokéball. "You did well, Bulbasaur. Take a good rest."

"Now that you've caught a new Pokémon, can we head to the lighthouse now?" Misty asked.

Ash turned to her and gave Misty a nod. "We were supposed to head there anyway. Now I can ask the lighthouse keeper if he has a phone. I want to check with Professor Oak to see if my Pokémon are doing well."

Misty beamed. "Great. I can't wait to climb onto a bed and fall asleep."

"Not before you guys have dinner," Brock added. "But we still have to hope that the lighthouse keeper is still in there. If not, we might be camping outside and I know you guys wouldn't want that again. So let's quickly make our way there."

* * *

As soon as Ash and his friends made it to the lighthouse, it had already became nightfall, with the only source of light guiding them to the lighthouse being the lighthouse itself.

"That was farther than it looked," Ash panted as he approached the lighthouse's door with the others.

There were two doors in front of them, which wasn't really much. But the doors had caught their attention. On the two doors were images of Pokémon, some of which Ash had no idea of, while Brock and Misty recognize. But to them, it was strange as lighthouses don't usually have doors like these.

"Well, I guess we'd better ring the bell," Misty shrugged, gesturing to the doorbell that was next to the doors.

Ash approached the doorbell and his finger gently pressed it, triggering the doorbell. The sounds of bells could then be heard by the group which gave them shivers as the doorbell's ring echoed into the night sky while a male voice came through the speaker above the doorbell. "Who's there?"

Brock was the first to speak to the speaker. "Uh, excuse us, sir. We're travelers who are looking for a place to stay for the night."

"And we would like to use your telephone, please," Ash said.

"If it's alright with you, could we also use your beds? We've been camping out for quite a while now," Misty chimed in.

"And I was wondering if I could use a kitchen to make dinner for our group as well. I would be happy to make some for you too," Brock added.

"That's great!" The voice replied, sounding delighted. "Can you cook without using tofu? I've been eating nothing but tofu ever since my cook went on vacation. Come on in."

They heard the locks on the other side of the doors unlock and a creak followed as they slowly swung opened. Once the doors were fully opened, they stepped inside. The first thing they saw, or stood on, was a long red carpet with yellow edges that stretched across the room, ending at the top of a small flight of stairs. The room itself was big as well, with stone walls and columns supporting them.

"What's that?" Ash asked, pointing towards the end of the room. At the top of the stairs was a huge figure that was roughly the same height as Brock. They approached the figure and Ash handed Arcus over to Brock while climbed the stairs and the others remained at the bottom.

As soon as he was a few steps away from the figure, it turned around, revealing a pair of red eyes that stared back at the boy.

Ash screamed, falling on his back as he backed away from it. "What on earth is that thing?!"

The lights soon came on and Brock couldn't help but gasp at the sight of the figure that scared Ash. The figure was a Pokémon with a large brown shell covering its body. There are two small eyes facing upwards on the outside of its shell as well. The structure of its body was almost entirely unknown, except its four yellow legs and luminescent red eyes on its underside.

"It can't be!" Brock cried. "That's a Kabuto! It's an extinct Pokémon!"

Immediately, Ash took out his Pokédex and pointed it towards the huge figure. However, nothing came up on it. His head turned to the Pokémon Breeder with a skeptical look. "Are you sure of it, Brock? Because the Pokédex isn't showing me anything!"

The huge Kabuto lifted its front arms and waved them, almost as if denying something. Then, it spoke in the same voice they had heard a minute ago. "No! I'm not a Kabuto. I'm Bill, a Pokémon Researcher and the keeper of this lighthouse! This is a costume and unfortunately, I'm stuck in it!"

"Do you need help?" Misty asked.

"That would be splendid!" The Kabuto, or Bill, replied. "Please step up here."

Ash got up from the ground and he dusted himself off before approaching Bill. "Tell me what to do."

Bill gestured one of his hands towards the side of his costume, where a small button could be seen. "Just push the button and I'll be out of this thing. The arms on this costume was too short for me, but I'm glad you're here when I needed you."

Ash pushed the button like Bill had instructed, and a hissing sound was heard when the costume split opened. The arms of the costume dropped, revealing a pair of human arms covered by a pair of red sleeves. The underside of the costume dropped next and a green-haired man in a red suit stood up, Bill. He smiled at Ash. "Thanks for helping me get out. I've been stuck in there for hours!"

"What were you doing in that thing?" Misty asked.

Bill dusted his sleeves and turned to her. "I'll explain everything later. I seem to recall one of you saying that you wanted to use my phone."

"That's me," Ash replied.

"There's a video phone near us. It's right on that table," Bill said, pointing to a table to their right where a small computer screen and a phone which was shaped as a Bellsprout was resting on top of a small table.

Ash approached the video phone and he dialed in Professor Oak's number. The screen on the computer soon displayed Professor Oak, cooking his dinner. As soon as the professor saw him, he smiled. _"Well, good to see you, Ash. You caught me cooking dinner. My cook's on vacation and I've got to make my own food until she gets back."_

"I just call to check on my Pokémon. How are they?"

 _"Your Zubat has been very cooperative with me, Ash,"_ Professor Oak replied. _"Your Zubat has helped me with my research on Zubat's when in direct contact with sunlight. It seems that Wild Zubat are more likely to stay away from the sun than trained Zubat and I have your Zubat to thank. Other than it, your Squirtle and Krabby are getting along quite well, probably because they're both Water Pokémon."_

"Can I see them?"

Professor Oak smiled and he turned his head to the side where he proceeded to whistle. A few seconds later, Ash's Zubat had appeared in front of the screen, perching himself on the professor's arm while Squirtle and Krabby emerged from behind the professor.

Ash smiled at his Pokémon. "It's good to see you guys. How's the lab?" The Pokémon expressed their cheerful feelings to the boy and he seemed to be satisfied by it. "I see. Well, it's good to know that you guys are doing alright."

 _"Speaking of Pokémon,"_ Professor Oak continued. _"I see that you have nine Pokémon in total. Gary has already captured forty-five Pokémon. It's a slow start for you but I'm sure that you'll be able to catch up to him in time."_

"Forty-five?!" Ash exclaimed in shock. "I've got a lot of work to do then."

 _"Where are you calling me from anyway?"_ Professor Oak asked.

"We're in a lighthouse just near Vermilion City," Ash replied.

A smile formed on Professor Oak's face when he heard it. _"Ah! You must be at Bill's lighthouse. He's a young Pokémon Researcher who knows even more than me! See what you can learn from him. He could teach you just about everything about Pokémon!"_

Then, Bill stepped forward and waved at the screen. "It's good to hear such kind words from a person such as yourself, Professor Oak."

 _"Hello, Bill!"_ Professor Oak waved back. _"I hope you don't mind me asking but I hope that you would be able to tell Ash and his friends about what you know. These three have a surprise of their own for you as well. Now I've got to go. My tofu's done. I'll talk to you again when you get to Vermilion City, Ash!"_

With that, the call ended.

Bill smiled, placing the phone down as he turned to the group. "Well, there's no way that I can ignore a request from the great Professor Oak. But first…" A grumble erupted from Bill's stomach and he clutched it, giving them a look that screamed that he was hungry. "Can someone prepare dinner now? I'm starving."

* * *

After having the dinner that Brock had made, Bill sighed and thanked the Pokémon Breeder before turning to Ash. "Now, back to business. I remember Professor Oak saying that you three have a surprise for me. Care to share it with me?"

Misty shifted closer to Ash and she leaned towards him, whispering into his ear. "Was the professor talking about Arcus?"

"I think he did," Ash replied before turning back to Bill. "I think Professor Oak telling you about this new Pokémon we're raising." Ash picked up Arcus and he gently laid the Baby Pokémon on the table. "But I completely forgotten to ask Professor Oak what I should do. Arcus hasn't been well ever since this afternoon."

"Yeah," Brock nodded. "Arcus seemed to have used up a lot of energy when the brace on his arm was removed. We've used a Super Potion on him and gave him a few Oran Berries but it doesn't seem to be working. We were hoping that you know what to do."

Bill raised his hand, scratching the bottom of his chin as he leaned in closer to the panting Baby Pokémon. "Interesting…To think I would see a Pokémon like this. What is it?" Bill had tried to place a hand on Arcus, but Beedrill had stopped him, flying in between him and Arcus, crossing his front stingers as to say to Bill that he wasn't allowed to approach Arcus.

"A Beedrill?" Bill blinked.

"It's been following us because it's protecting him," Ash explained. "It does that to anyone, including me. The Beedrill hates humans."

"I see," Bill said. "So it's the same as _those_ Pokémon I've been hearing about."

"What are you talking about?" Misty asked, confused by Bill's words.

Bill raised his head to face Misty and he lowered his hand. "I've spent a lot of time in areas where Pokémon Trainers would usually go to catch Pokémon. Of course, I was there to do simple researches and experiments. But while I was in those areas, I would frequently see Trainers abandon their Pokémon."

Hearing this, Beedrill seemed to lower his stingers as he heard Bill continue. "During my time in those areas, I would observe the abandoned Pokémon the most. It seems that those Pokémon would, at first, feel confuse and scared. Then, as time progressed, they would eventually return to being Wild Pokémon. They would befriend the local Pokémon and their trust in humans seemed to have vanish. As a researcher, I am not allowed to interfere with them, but when they encounter humans, they would react quite violently and the local Pokémon would also resent humans."

Bill then gestured to Beedrill and offered a gentle smile to him. "This Beedrill must have been an abandoned Pokémon or a Wild Pokémon that has witness a Pokémon being abandoned."

 **"He's the second one,"** Pikachu said, earning a surprised look from Bill.

"Ah, I see the PokéTranslator that Professor Oak was telling me about a few days ago seems to be working," Bill said. "I had no idea that the device was already out for sale."

"Oh it isn't for sale just yet," Ash replied with a sheepish smile. "My Pokémon are all using the first batch of the translator. So far, they seem to be working."

"That's good to know," Bill replied before turning back to Beedrill. "Anyway, I just want to help your friend, Beedrill. I'm sure that I'll be able to help your friend with whatever's wrong with it." Beedrill wasn't budging. His stingers crossed again defensively and he seemed to hiss at the researcher.

"Pikachu, you have to stop Beedrill," Ash whispered. "Tell him that Bill is just trying to help Arcus."

The Mouse Pokémon gave him a nod and he jumped onto the table and switched off his PokéTranslator. He proceeded to hold his small paws up to Beedrill and spoke in his native tongue. "Beedrill, calm down. The guy's just trying to help Arcus."

"I won't let a human I don't know even lay a finger on the Son of Arceus!" Beedrill hissed. "I only accepted your trainer and his friends because they took care of Arcus when he was an egg. But to think that I'll let anyone else do so, I would rather allow it over my dead body."

"It's that kind of attitude that I'm sure is why you always let Arcus get hurt," Pikachu said, earning a look from the Poison Bee Pokémon. "Look, don't you think you're going a little overboard with that attitude? This guy is just trying to help Arcus and you're rejecting it. What would happen if Arcus's condition worsens just because you wouldn't let the man examine him?"

"I always have to think of the possibilities that…"

"This is a possibility too, you know," Pikachu interrupted, narrowing his eyes at the Poison Bee Pokémon, who remained quiet for a few moments, exchanging looks between Arcus and Bill. The Son of Arceus was shivering again and his eyes were twitching while Bill looked determined to help. Then, he heaved a sigh of defeat and looked at Pikachu. "To think that I've been lectured twice today about the same topic. Maybe I really should consider your words, friend."

With that, Beedrill hovered off the table and he seemed to relax a little as he flew away from the table to stay by Arcus's side while Pikachu returned to Ash's side. Bill approached Arcus and he gently placed a hand on the Baby Pokémon's body. It was starting to burn up.

"Oh dear," Bill said out loud. "It seems that it's beginning to catch a fever. I've seen this before in Wild Pokémon and trained Pokémon alike. There's a simple explanation. But first, I need to know what happened. Can you explain to me how this Baby Pokémon even become this worn out?"

"Well, it all began when the brace was removed, I think," Ash replied. "I wasn't there when the brace was removed but when I did find him, it was already off. All I remember was that a Water Gun attack would vanish when it's near Arcus. Then Arcus would seal himself in water and rocks would come out of the ground and break into shards."

"Don't forget that Arcus also shot out bolts of electricity too," Misty added.

Bill only smiled. "Then I think I've found the reason. Ash, have your Pikachu use an Electric attack on the Baby Pokémon." Hearing that, everyone seemed to give Bill a shocked look and he quickly explained himself. "You said that the Baby Pokémon shot out bolts of electricity, right? Then that means that it's worn out because it needs to recharge. I've seen Wild Pikachu do so before. They would shock their friends to reenergize them. I'm sure this would be the same."

"Oh, in that case, use a Thunder Shock, Pikachu," Ash said, earning a concerned look from Pikachu who muttered a silent apology to the Son of Arceus as he charged his body with electricity. Then, he released a Thunder Shock attack, which struck Arcus.

At the side, Beedrill tried his best to resist the urge to attack Pikachu, but he knew he had to trust the human's words once in a while. He still had yet to the results of it and he was hoping that it would be helpful to Arcus.

The Thunder Shock attack ended and the electricity around Arcus was absorbed into his body. The shivering stopped and Arcus seemed to relax as well. His eyes had stopped twitching and was slowly opening themselves as he struggled to get to his feet. As expected, Beedrill was there to help the Baby Pokémon.

The others were all relieved, especially Pikachu, who had feared Beedrill's rage if it didn't work.

"Thanks for helping us, Bill," Ash said to the Researcher as he picked up Arcus. "If we hadn't met you, I don't know what would have happened to Arcus."

Bill smiled. "No Ash, it is I who should be thanking you. Today, I have discovered a new Pokémon, all thanks to you and your friends. This…Arcus, as you call it. It is a Pokémon that I have never seen before. It could be one of a kind! You have to tell me where you got it from."

"Uh…I got it from Professor Oak," Ash replied. "He said that a guy called A handed the Egg to him and wanted me to have it. The Egg hatched when we reached Mt. Moon and it was Arcus."

"A?" Bill repeated. "I have never heard of a Trainer by that name before. I must write this down! Who knows when I might be able to encounter this man you're talking about?"

"Speaking of research, why were you in the Kabuto costume?"

Bill looked up from the table where he had written down a few words and he spoke to them as he gestured them to follow him. "Getting inside its skin helps me get inside its head. There were many kinds of extinct Pokémon in the past and I want to understand how they lived. Putting on a costume is one way of trying to figure out what they were like."

"You can understand what a Pokémon was like from wearing a costume?" Brock asked.

"Yes, indeed, or I'm beginning to," Bill replied as he led them into a room, where a huge screen greeted them. "Thus planet was created billions of years ago. During that time, all kinds of Pokémon existed. They have many ways of living, such as the way they adapt in their environment and how they search for food."

"When you say all kinds of Pokémon, how many are you talking about?" Ash asked.

Bill reached for a button, which turned on the screen, to reveal images of hundreds of Pokémon. "In this region alone, there are about a hundred and fifty known species of Pokémon."

"Over a hundred?!" Ash exclaimed in shock, much to Bill's amusement as he continued.

"Yes, Ash. Not only that, there are many more Pokémon in other regions as well. Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova and Kalos. Recently, I've also beginning to research on the Pokémon in the Alola region as well. In total, there are over seven hundred Pokémon species that we know of today and still counting!"

Bill turned to Ash and gave him a smile. "You're lucky to be a Pokémon Trainer. Your goal is to capture all of these different kinds of Pokémon and that alone is a great task."

"Yeah," Ash replied, lowering his head. "But so far, I've only caught nine Pokémon and Gary Oak has already catch forty-five."

"Isn't Arcus your Pokémon?"

Ash shook his head. "No. Beedrill doesn't let me or any of us catch Arcus for some reason."

"I see," Bill said. "But as I said, there are many different kinds of Pokémon. Some of them are yet to be discovered and some have only just been discovered, like Arcus. So we need to keep searching. No one knows how many Pokémon are really out there. If there are seven hundred known Pokémon, there could be another seven hundred more we have yet to see! The search for these unknown Pokémon goes on. There's always something new to look for in our lives and in ourselves."

"Something to look for?" Ash repeated.

Bill simply nodded as he stopped next to a window. "Yes. There's a lot for us to look for. Inside and outside ourselves. There's a meaning for every creature, a meaning for all the Pokémon and a meaning for all of us humans too!"

The screen soon turned off and Bill looked back at them. "Keep looking for new Pokémon to catch. It's something very important for Pokémon research. It's as vital to me as it is to you. Right now though, there is one Pokémon that I've been searching for."

"What kind of Pokémon?" Brock asked.

"Follow me and I'll explain to you," Bill replied as he walked towards a door with the others following close behind. Bill opened the door and they began to climb a long flight of stairs that seemed to spiral up towards the top of the lighthouse.

As they climbed the stairs, Bill spoke. "The Pokémon that I've been looking for is probably the biggest Pokémon ever. Bigger than all the rest and no one has ever seen it. It's been wandering the world for years and years, looking for friends."

"But doesn't that Pokémon has any friends or family?" Misty asked as they reached the end of the stairs.

Bill opened the door that was in front of him, granting them access to the top of the lighthouse where they had a full view of the ocean that the lighthouse's light was shining at. Bill continued. "The Pokémon wanders because it's alone. And perhaps like Arcus, it's the only one of its species. A one of kind!"

He leaned on the railings and smiled as he looked at the ocean. "One night, I heard this very strange sound coming across the ocean." He reached for his pocket and pulled out a purple device and pressed one of the buttons on it. The device immediately emitted a melody which resembled a cry.

"I want to meet you. That's what it said to me. Some time ago, I recorded a similar sound and played it from the lighthouse towards the ocean. The one I recorded said 'let's be friends, I want to meet you'. Then, one day, I heard the same voice calling back to me from across the ocean. It said 'I want to meet you too. I want to be friends'. It was answering back to me. Some foggy night, that Pokémon might come here to meet a friend it's been seeking for a very long time. I would be so happy to meet that Pokémon!"

"But will you try to catch the Pokémon?" Ash asked.

"Why would I need to catch it?" Bill asked, giving Ash an incredulous look. "Meeting the Pokémon would be enough for me. But just a chance to study it would make my long wait worthwhile."

Just then, a similar cry came from the ocean and that caught everyone's attention as they turned towards the water.

As they looked towards the water, they could see that a large figure had appeared, just as another cry was heard. The figure was bipedal, and it had large, grayish-green eyes which glowed and a round snout with small nostrils. A pair of long, thin antennae sprout from the top of its head, with a small horn set between them. It also had thick arms and legs ending in three claws each. The leg joints are well defined, while its arms have a smooth, rounded appearance. Its wings were also small compared to its body.

"It's here!" Bill cried as he took out the purple device and pressed the other button on it. At that moment, the lighthouse's light began changing colors. At the same time, he had replayed the recorded cries once more for the large draconic figure.

The figure heard the cries and it, too, cried back.

"It sounds like it's singing," Misty sighed as she listened to the cries of the figure, which when mixed with the recorded cries, sounded just like a melody.

"Would you care to dance?" Brock asked, which the girl accepted as the two danced together while the figure began approaching the lighthouse.

As the figure came closer to the lighthouse, Ash pulled out his Pokédex, which quickly displayed a Pokémon which was strikingly similar to the figure. The Pokédex then read out the description of it. "Dragonite, the Dragon Pokémon. This extremely rare and highly intelligent type is able to fly faster than any known Pokémon."

Hearing the entry, Bill's eyes widened in shock and he turned to the large figure, now identified as a Dragonite. "So it's a Dragonite this whole time? Then I guess it isn't the only one of its species."

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

"Dragonite are actually numerous, Ash," Bill replied. "They could be found in some of the other regions and quite a few reside here in Kanto. However, no Dragonite has ever gotten this big before! It's probably because of this, it wanted some friends."

The Dragonite stopped just a few steps away from the lighthouse and it lowered its head, staring right at Bill. Then, it let out a cry which the Pokémon Researcher could understand. The cry was the same one he had recorded. Bill gave a smile and he played one of his recorded cries and cried to the Dragonite. "Of course we can be friends! That's what I've always wanted!"

It smiled at Bill and cried out in delight.

At that moment, Arcus's eyes opened and he blinked for a few times before he looked around, wondering what was going on. Then, his eyes fell onto the Dragonite, which made the Baby Pokémon lift his head up to meet the eyes of the large Pokémon.

The Dragonite noticed Arcus as well, bending its head down to get a closer look at the Son of Arceus. It squinted its eyes as it focused on Arcus, getting a clearer look at him. When it did, the Dragonite roared, which only the Pokémon understood while Arcus seemed to cower from the sudden roar as he buried his face in Ash's arms.

The humans chuckled at Arcus's reaction and Ash gently scratched the Baby Pokémon's back. "It's alright, Arcus. The Dragonite isn't going to hurt you." Arcus didn't budge, still afraid of the size of the Dragonite and the roar it had made.

"I'm sure Dragonite won't be offended by it, right?" Bill said as he turned to the Dragonite, who shook its head.

* * *

When morning came, Ash and his friends were at the front of the lighthouse, where they were greeted by Bill and the large Dragonite. Bill approached them and pointed towards the forest in front of them. "Vermilion City isn't far away from here, Ash. It will only be a few hours so I'm sure you can make it."

Ash nodded. "Thanks for everything, Bill. You've done a lot for us. We're very grateful of you."

The researcher smiled. "No, Ash. You are the one who I must thank. Not only did you let me have a glimpse of a new Pokémon, you've also helped me become friends with Dragonite. If anyone's to be grateful for, I think it is I who should be grateful of you, Ash. Good luck at getting your next Gym badge. I'll be rooting for you once you reach the Pokémon League!"

"Just watch me, Bill!" Ash said. "I'm going to be at the top of the league once I get to the finals! I'm going to be the winner!"

"Then you have a long way to go, Ash," Bill replied. "I've seen the League multiple times in the past and I have witness many strong Trainers. But I'm sure you'll be the strongest out of all of them."

"Of course I am!" Ash smiled. "And I'm going to prove it. Until next time, Bill. Hope we meet again!"

"Likewise, Ash!"

After exchanging their farewells, Ash and his friends made their leave, with hopes that they will reach Vermilion City without any accidents.

* * *

 **Me: Well, now that this chapter is done, the next one will be out sooner or later. But of course, Ash will battle Surge. Make sure to review too! If you find anything still lacking in this story, feel free to tell me!**


	14. Chapter 12: Pikachu vs Raichu

**Chapter 12: Pikachu vs Raichu**

 **Me: We're~back! After a long wait(which I am so sorry for. You guys can blame school for that.), time to get to the story! Also, there will be an IMPORTANT announcement at the end so please read it after the story!**

 **Arcus: Disclaimer, if you don't mind.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own Pokémon but I do own Arcus and any other OCs in this story.**

* * *

 **Pokémon on hand:**

 **Ash - Pikachu(M), Butterfree(M), Pidgeotto(M), Beedrill(M), Bulbasaur(M), Charmander(M). At Oak's lab - Zubat(M), Squirtle(M), Krabby(M)**

 **Misty - Starmie, Staryu, Goldeen(F), Squirtle(M)**

 **Brock - Onix(M), Geodude(M), Zubat(M)**

* * *

 **Response to reviewer:**

 **Guest: Arcus will receive Kalos** **Pokémon when he follows Ash to that region, so...a lot of chapters and stories to go before that happens.**

* * *

Vermilion City.

Those were the two words which made Ash and his friends smile with glee when they looked up at the sign. Beyond the sign, there were buildings that stretched for a mile and the group knew that they were not hallucinating.

"We finally made it…" Misty muttered as she collapsed onto her knees. "I can't believe we finally made it! I can't wait to take a bubble bath!"

"I have to hit the laundry mat," Brock said. "Our clothes stinks since we found Bulbasaur and that's saying something."

Ash smiled. "While you guys do that, I'm going to find the Vermilion City Gym right now!" The boy wanted to sprint into the city, to find the Gym and to have a match with the Gym Leader. However, he was stopped by Brock, who had held the back of his collar. "What is it?"

The Pokémon Breeder pointed below him, which Ash looked down at, only to find Pikachu completely exhausted. As Ash picked him up, Brock sighed. "Pikachu's hungry, Ash. He can't fight in that state if you were to go to the Gym now. Don't forget, Arcus might still need to rest as well after what happened yesterday."

"I guess you're right, Brock," Ash sighed. Moments later, his stomach began to growl and Ash couldn't help but smile sheepishly at the others as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Looks like I'm hungry too."

"You're not the only one…" Both Brock and Misty deadpanned as they followed the boy to the Pokémon Center.

After receiving directions from the people, the group were able to locate the Pokémon Center and they quickly entered it. They approached the counter, where a Nurse Joy was behind it with her eyes on the screen of her computer. When she noticed them, she greeted them. "Welcome to the Vermilion City Pokémon Center."

Nurse Joy pulled out three trays and the group placed their Pokéballs onto it. Ash placed Pikachu down next to the tray and looked at the nurse. "My Pikachu's hungry, Nurse Joy. We've been walking for hours ever since we left Bill's Lighthouse."

The nurse gave him an understanding smile and picked up Pikachu. "It happens a lot, really. New Trainers who took the long route always end up at Bill's Lighthouse before making their way here. So I've had a lot of this situation. Don't worry about your Pikachu, we'll take care of its hunger."

Ash nodded, then placed Arcus down as well. "And can you please take a look at him too? I want to make sure that he's alright."

Seeing the Son of Arceus, Joy seemed to blink in surprise as she picked up Arcus. "My, when my cousins in Pewter City and Viridian City told me about a boy who had a rare Pokémon Egg, I thought it was just one of those Eggs from another region. Then my sister from Cerulean City said that the same boy had a Pokémon that no one has ever seen before, I just thought they were joking around. But this, now I see what they meant. So then you must be Ash, am I right?"

"They mentioned me?" Ash asked, surprised by the nurse's words, who smiled back and nodded.

Just then, the Center's doors slide opened and a boy ran in, carrying a critically injured Rattata. He ran over to the counter and looked over to Joy with a frightened look. "Nurse Joy! My Rattata's in bad shape. Can you please help it?"

Joy simply nodded and she turned her head around and yelled. "Chansey! We need a stretcher out here immediately!" A few seconds later, the door to the Emergency Room had opened and a stretcher was wheeled out by a Chansey. The boy placed his Rattata on the stretcher and Chansey turned it around, wheeling it back into the Emergency Room as quickly as it could.

Once they were out of sight, Joy sighed. "That's the fifteenth one brought in here this month."

"Fifteenth?" Ash repeated.

Nurse Joy nodded, placing Arcus down as the Chansey from before came back out and took all of the Pokémon that the group had given to Nurse Joy for checking. When Chansey had left, Joy brought them to a room, where they saw a few occupied beds and Trainers who were sitting by them.

On the beds were Pokémon, injured Pokémon who were still recovering from whatever had happened to them: The Rattata from before, an Oddish, a Caterpie, and a Sandshrew.

"They've all lost to Lt. Surge, the Gym Leader of the Vermilion City Gym," Joy said.

"H-he's that's strong?"

Misty looked at Ash with a taunting smirk. "What's this? Are you scared of battling Lt. Surge?"

"Of course not!" Ash retorted.

"We'll just see, Ash," Misty replied.

Brock folded his arms and he looked around at the Pokémon in the room before turning to Ash. "From the looks of things here, Ash, you're going to have to be tough as well. This Lt. Surge guy doesn't seem to be the kind that goes easy on anyone."

"R-really, Brock?"

Misty sighed. "We gave you the badges you already have, you know. How do you think we'll look if you get crush by Surge?"

"You have nothing to worry about," Ash replied, sounding a little more confident as he continued. "I'll make sure I'll win a badge. All I have to do is beat him, right?"

"That's a little too naïve, if I might say so," Brock replied. "If fifteen Pokémon Trainers before you can't beat him, what makes you think you can?"

"Because I know Gary's been here!" Ash said. "Without a doubt, I bet he'd won a badge from Surge and that's what I'm going to do as well. I can't be behind Gary all the time. That's why I'm going to win a badge from Surge!"

At that moment, a tune came through the speakers and Joy spoke. "Looks like your Pokémon have recovered. Why don't you kids go get them? They should be out of the ER by now."

They were led out of the room by Joy, who brought them over to the front of the Emergency Room, where they spotted Pikachu and Arcus sitting on a bench, happily eating away at an apple that they had. Beside them, was Beedrill, who was also enjoying an apple that he had received from Chansey.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out as he approached them. "I hope you're full, because we're going all out to win at the Gym!"

A stretcher passed by them and they looked at it, seeing a severely injured Pidgey being wheeled into the ER by Chansey while its Trainer was beside it. "Just hold on, Pidgey!"

"Looks like another one lost to the Gym," Misty muttered.

Seeing the state of the Pidgey, Pikachu couldn't help but pale in fear. **"Y-you want me to battle a Pokémon who can do that to a Pidgey?! No way am I going!"**

"Don't be a coward, Pikachu," Ash sighed.

 **"Don't you care if I end up like that Pidgey?!"**

Ash smiled. "Of course I care, Pikachu. But I know that it won't happen to you since you will win!" He grabbed the Mouse Pokémon's paw, only to realize that Pikachu was holding onto the bench, too afraid to let go, which didn't amuse Ash. "Come on, Pikachu. There's nothing to be afraid of." In response, he was electrocuted by Pikachu.

* * *

After finally being able to calm Pikachu down, they made their way to the Vermilion City Gym, which was very noticeable thanks to its multiple lightning bolt structures.

"You know it's not too late to back out," Misty said.

"Why should I back out? I'm sure I'll win this badge!" Ash replied as he handed Arcus over to Brock. Then, he took a deep breath and turned to Pikachu. "You ready, pal?" The Mouse Pokémon didn't know what to expect from the Gym, but he had to do it. After all, he was dragged all the way out here by Ash, so there's no backing out now. He gave Ash a nod, which Ash smiled as he pressed his hands against the door. "Here goes…"

He pushed the doors open and took a step inside. Once inside, he was greeted by a man and a woman, both who wore outfits similar to street punks. Ash swallowed as he approached them. "Hello. I've come for a Pokémon Battle to earn the Thunder Badge."

The man smirked, turning his head around. "Hey boss, another victim for the Emergency Room."

"Which one?" A male voice asked as a man, taller than Brock, stepped forward. The man, besides his enormous size, was muscular, with his blond spikey hair and an army uniform. The man grinned as he eyed the group, spreading his arms out as he said. "Welcome to the Vermilion City Gym! I am the Gym Leader, Lt. Surge." He lowered his arms and turned his attention back to them. "So, which one of you is my next challenger?"

"I am!" Ash said, stepping forward.

Surge blinked and stared at Ash for a moment. "You?" He gave Ash a smile and placed one his hand on Ash's head, rubbing it roughly. "Okay, baby!"

"I'm no baby!" Ash cried. "My name's Ash Ketchum."

"I call everyone who loses to me a baby," Surge replied.

Ash frowned. "Well I haven't lose yet! We haven't even start the battle!"

Just then, Surge looked down, noticing Pikachu clinging onto Ash's leg, making him laugh. "Ha! Look at this, the baby brought along his Baby Pokémon!"

"Quit it!" Ash said. "Why are you making fun of my Pikachu?"

Surge simply smirk as he took out a Pokéball. "I'll show you why. Raichu, go!" As soon as he let go of the capsule, it split open, releasing the Pokémon contained within it.

The Pokémon was similar to Pikachu, except that it was larger in size and was orange instead of yellow. Its arms and feet had patches of brown fur at the end, and the soles of its big feet were tan with a circular orange pad. Its bifurcated ears were brown on the outside and yellow on the insides and ends in a distinctive curl. The electric sacs on its cheeks were yellow. It had two horizontal brown stripes on its back. Its long, thin tail had a lightning bolt-shaped end.

"A Raichu?!" Ash exclaimed, taking out his Pokédex, which quickly displayed the image of the Pokémon and its entry.

"Raichu, a Mouse Pokémon of the Electric element. Raichu is the evolved form of Pikachu. It can shock with more than 100,000 volts, enough to render a Dragonite unconscious."

"If you want to quit, baby, now's your chance," Surge said, patting the top of Raichu's head. "Besides, even if you want to battle me, what could a baby like that do? If you want to be a Pokémon Master, you should evolve your Pokémon as soon as you catch it."

"There's more to raising a Pokémon than forcing it to evolve!" Ash retorted. "And I like this Pikachu just the way he is!"

"Wrong, baby!" Surge countered. "Electric Pokémon are only useful once they've learn all their Electric attacks. You keep it weak and puny like that, it's no more than just a pet."

Hearing this, Pikachu's cheeks sparked in agitation.

"So, did you just come here to show us your little pet?" Surge taunted, folding his arms as he looked at Ash.

"We came to earn a Thunder Badge!"

 **"Pet? I'll show you…Ash, let me in!"** Pikachu said, surprising Surge and his companions.

Surge smiled. "My, isn't that the PokéTranslator that Professor Oak's making. It looks like it's working. And your little pet sure has an attitude. Raichu, let's show these babies that messing with the big boys can be a shocking experience."

The lights of the gym turned on and Surge escorted them into a different room, where a battlefield was at. Surge moved over to the other side of the field and he gave his companions a nod, where the man announced. "The Pokémon Battle will begin! Only one Pokémon may be used. The Gym Leader, Lt. Surge, has chosen Raichu. The challenger, Ash Ketchum, has chosen Pikachu. No substitution will be allowed. Let the battle begin."

A bell rang, signaling the start of the match, which Surge quickly began. "Raichu, attack!"

"Pikachu, Thunder Shock!" Ash cried.

Pikachu did as he was told, releasing the electricity in his body in the form of the Thunder Shock attack, which struck Raichu. However, it wasn't very effective. Raichu felt almost nothing from the attack and it swiped its tail from side to side while Lt. Surge laughed.

"You call that a Thunder Shock? Raichu, show them a real one!"

Raichu grinned, charging the electricity in its body before releasing it, directing the attack at Pikachu, who shrieked in pain as he was sent flying back towards Ash. Pikachu crashed on his back, weakened by Raichu's Thunder Shock.

"It's over, baby," Surge snickered. "Did you really think that your Pikachu could beat my Raichu?"

"Call him back, Ash!" Brock said, gaining the boy's attention as he continued. "Raichu's shocks are too powerful for him. There's no way Pikachu can win this battle!"

Ash hesitated for a moment, taking Brock's words to heart as he faced Pikachu. The Breeder was right. Pikachu didn't stand a chance against Raichu. The Mouse Pokémon couldn't win this battle. "Pikachu, return!"

The Mouse Pokémon heard his partner and balled his paws as he got up on his feet. He gave Ash a stern look and shook his head. **"No, Ash. I need to do this. I'm going to show this Raichu that evolution isn't everything!"**

Surge raised a brow, intrigued by Pikachu. "Oh? The little guy wants to keep on going, huh? Raichu, Mega Punch!" Within moments, Raichu was in front of the Mouse Pokémon with a raised fist. Raichu slammed its fist against Pikachu's face, sending the Mouse Pokémon off the ground.

"Pikachu!"

"It isn't over yet!" Surge yelled. "Raichu, use Body Slam!"

As Pikachu was still in the air, Raichu leapt up, facing towards Pikachu as it slammed its entire body on top of the Mouse Pokémon. Raichu got off the smaller Mouse Pokémon, who was struggling to get up while Surge grinned. "Look at it! The baby's trying to get up. Why don't you help him, Raichu?"

Raichu smirked, turning its back against Pikachu and swiped its tail at him, knocking Pikachu onto his back while Surge let out a fake gasp. "That's not what I meant, Raichu. I said help him up!" Raichu nodded, picking up the Pikachu. Then, it tossed the smaller Mouse Pokémon up into the air. "Now that's what I'm talking about! Give the baby a big finale, Thunder Shock!"

Once more, Raichu blasted its Thunder Shock attack at Pikachu, electrocuting the smaller Mouse Pokémon as he collapsed onto his back, falling unconscious.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried, running over to his partner.

Surge's companion raised his hand up and he announced the winner of the battle. "Pikachu is unable to battle! The winner of the Gym battle is Lt. Surge and Raichu!"

"Return, Raichu," Surge said, returning his Mouse Pokémon to its Pokéball. He folded his arms as he approached Ash and laughed at the boy. "Do you see now, kid? Evolved Pokémon will be stronger than their pre-evolved form. You will never get a badge from me if you don't evolve your Pikachu. Now get to the Pokémon Center before something bad happens to your pet."

Ash gritted his teeth in anger as he got up, picking Pikachu up in his hands as he ran towards the entrance of the Gym, slamming the door open as he made his way back towards the Center with his friends following him close behind.

* * *

"How is he?" Misty asked as she, Brock, Arcus and Beedrill entered the ward where Pikachu was currently resting in. Her attention was at Ash, who was sitting next to the Electric Mouse Pokémon.

"Nurse Joy said that he's alright since he's an Electric Pokémon like Raichu," Ash replied, showing them a smile. "She said that Pikachu will make a quick recovery after a good rest."

Misty then sighed, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You know, Ash. It's not a good for your health if you're hiding what you feel. That fake smile of yours isn't fooling any of us, you know."

"You could tell, huh?" Ash mumbled, looking down as his hat shadowed his eyes. Tears escaped from his eyes, sliding down his cheeks as he wiped them off his face. "Guys, this is all my fault. I should have listened to you."

The two remained silent as they listened to Ash's sobbing. "If only I'd listened to you guys, Pikachu wouldn't even be in this state! Pikachu's hurt because of me and my stupidity…"

"Ash…" Brock said.

"There's no need to say anything, Brock," Ash continued. "I know what you're going to say to me anyway. I'm no Pokémon Master. I'm not even a Pokémon Trainer if I can't take good care of Pikachu. Maybe it's for the best if I quit being a…"

Before Ash could even complete his sentence, a hand flashed in front of him, slapping him across his face as pain filled his right cheek which was beginning to redden. He looked up at his friends in shock, seeing the Pokémon Breeder and the girl glaring at him with clenched fists.

"Don't ever call yourself a quitter again, Ash Ketchum!" Misty cried.

Brock nodded. "She's right, Ash. Did you even listen to yourself when you said that? Ask yourself this, Ash. If you were a horrible Trainer, would Pikachu still listen to you? Would Bulbasaur, Charmander or even Squirtle have chosen to follow you?"

There was a brief silence from the three as Ash pondered on Brock's words while the Breeder continued. "Pikachu still listens to you, isn't that right? Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle are still with you, right? That proves that you are not a failure as a Pokémon Trainer, Ash. It's true that you make mistakes, but you are just a human. Everybody isn't perfect, not even us or Lt. Surge."

"Brock's right, Ash," Misty said. "You are not a failure in our eyes. We may have been a group for only a few weeks, but we all know that you never back down from a challenge. So what if you lost against Surge? That doesn't mean that you can't beat him the second time."

"But I…"

"No buts, Ash," Misty continued. "Wipe those tears off your face right now, Ash! One loss doesn't mean that you have failed. Many experienced Trainers have lost battles before but they don't turn into a big crybaby straight away. They become stronger by learning from their mistakes! And I'm sure that both you and Pikachu and will from this loss to become even stronger. We believe in you, Ash, and we know that you'll beat Surge next time."

 **"That's right, Ash…"**

The three humans turned towards the bed, where they saw Pikachu looking back at them with tearful eyes. "Pikachu, you're awake."

Pikachu simply nodded as he got up, gritting his teeth from the slight pain he felt on his back. **"They're right, Ash. We may have lost against Surge and Raichu, but that doesn't mean that we're out for good."**

"But what can we do? We're no match for Raichu," Ash muttered. "Even if you're well rested and healed, I doubt that we'll beat that Raichu again."

"I might have a solution to that," came the voice of Nurse Joy as she walked into the room, holding a small box in her hands.

"Nurse Joy?"

The nurse smiled, placing the box on the bed and opening it to reveal a stone in it, a Thunder Stone. "I couldn't help but overhear you talking about Lt. Surge and his Raichu. This might be what you need, Ash. It's a Thunder Stone. It's an Evolution Stone that your Pikachu can use to evolve into a Raichu, just like Surge's."

"Would that mean that Pikachu will be strong enough to battle Raichu?" Ash asked as he picked up the stone.

Nurse Joy shrugged. "It depends on the Pokémon. Usually, when a Pokémon evolves with an Evolution Stone, they would have a huge increase in their strength. So theoretically, if Pikachu evolves into Raichu, he should be able to match Surge's Raichu in strength."

"But you'll have to think about it, Ash," Brock added, catching the boy's attention.

"If you make Pikachu evolve into Raichu, you can't change him back," Misty finished.

Ash remained silent, looking at them before turning towards Pikachu and then to the Thunder Stone in his hand. "If I evolve Pikachu, then I might be able to win that badge. But to make him evolve just to fight…I would be just like Surge."

"That's why you have to think about your choice," Nurse Joy said.

The boy nodded, growing silent as he pondered over the use of the Thunder Stone. After a while, he turned towards Pikachu, stretching out his hand with the Thunder Stone. "Pikachu, what do you want to do?"

 **"Huh?"**

"I really want to beat Surge," Ash continued. "But I also don't want to force you to evolve if you're happy staying the way you are now. So I want you to choose, Pikachu."

Once more, silence was heard in the room, with the exception of Beedrill's wings buzzing, as they awaited Pikachu's response. It didn't take too long for the Electric Mouse to give his answer to them. Pikachu got up from the bed, trying his best to balance himself on the soft surface before swinging his tail around to swat the stone out of Ash's hand.

"Pikachu?"

 **"I'm not going to change, Ash,"** Pikachu replied through his translator. **"Becoming a Raichu is tempting, considering our situation. But I'm not going to evolve and that's final. I'm going to show it to them. I'm going to show them that evolution is not everything. I'll face Raichu, as a Pikachu."**

Ash smiled from the answer. "Pikachu, together you and I will beat Lt. Surge and his Raichu."

 **"That's what I'm hoping for,"** Pikachu replied.

Misty shook her head. "You're both crazy."

"You should change your strategy, Ash," Brock said. "Maybe you can use your other Pokémon, like Bulbasaur. That way, it would be easier to win the badge. Using Pikachu again would just make it harder."

"It's hard but it's not impossible!" Ash retorted. "Pikachu and I will try and find a way to win!"

 **"And I'm going to prove that I can win!"** The Electric Mouse Pokémon added. However, a slight fatigue overcame him and Pikachu fell on his back, landing safely on the pillow as he fell back to sleep.

Nurse Joy sighed with a smile. "Your Pikachu is enthusiastic, I'll give him that. But he still has to rest to get back his energy before you can challenge Surge again."

Ash nodded. "Alright. While Pikachu's resting, I'll be busy finding a way to beat Surge."

Seeing a confident smile forming on the boy's face, Brock couldn't help but smile himself as he approached the boy. "Since there isn't a way to change your mind now, I'll help you with you strategy planning, Ash."

"Thanks, Brock. You're the best," Ash said as they headed out of the room, followed by Misty and Nurse Joy while Beedrill and Arcus remained in the room with Pikachu.

The Poison Bee Pokémon dropped onto the bed, helping the Baby Pokémon up as he approached the unconscious Pikachu. "Arcus, what are you doing?" As expected of a Baby Pokémon, Arcus didn't reply. Instead, the Baby Pokémon began radiating a white aura which dispersed all over the room.

Particles of the white aura landed on Pikachu and he glowed while Beedrill remained still, feeling a familiar soothing energy flowing around him which he soon recalled had happened when he, Arcus and the humans found Ash's Bulbasaur.

The Electric Mouse Pokémon stirred and let out a slight groan as his eyes slowly opened. The aura around him soon faded and his eyes instantly widened when he realized that the Son of Arceus was standing right in front of him, which almost caused him to jump out of the bed.

 **"A-A-Arcus?!"**

"You're awake again, Pikachu," Beedrill said, looking towards the Electric Type Pokémon.

Pikachu turned towards the Poison Bee Pokémon, still feeling surprised as he spoke. **"Beedrill? What are you and Arcus doing here? Where are the others?"**

"Your human Trainer and the other humans have gone out of the room when you fainted just now. They're planning a strategy for you to use against Raichu once you head to that Gym later. But seeing how you reacted when you saw Arcus, you should be alright to battle now. But I'm still confused as to what Arcus used to heal your fatigue."

Pikachu nodded. **"Tell me about it. All I remembered was that I was so tired and I fell asleep. Then I felt this feeling from out of nowhere and now I'm feel so great that I think I can take Onix head on again with just Thunderbolt."**

Beedrill chuckled. "Don't push your fortunate luck, Pikachu. You may be lucky, but I doubt you're THAT lucky."

The Electric Mouse Pokémon grinned sheepishly. **"A guy can dream, can't he? So what do you think Arcus did to me that my fatigue disappeared?"**

"That's a question that I have no answer to," Beedrill replied, folding his arms. "This is the second time it happened and nothing we know of is what Arcus did. It's unheard of. Arcus must have an ability that no other Pokémon has."

 **"Well, he's the Son of Arceus for a reason,"** Pikachu joked, which slightly amused Beedrill while Arcus remained confused at the two, tilting his head at them as he sat down beside Beedrill.

* * *

"So how do you think you'll battle Surge, Ash?" Brock asked as Misty handed him a soda can.

Ash received his from the girl and opened it, taking a sip before speaking to Brock. "Well, I'm still deciding on what Pikachu will be able to do considering that he knows Thunderbolt, Quick Attack, Agility and Thunder Shock."

"Not to mention we don't know what are Raichu's other Moves others than Thunder Shock and Body Slam," Misty added, sighing as she sat beside the boy. "Even if we can come up with a strategy for Pikachu, it will still be a tough battle since we're still unsure of its other two Moves."

The boy only scoffed as he folded his arms. "I don't care if Raichu has two Moves or four. Pikachu and I will win that Badge no matter what and we're going to prove it. Pikachu might not be a Raichu, but that doesn't mean that he'll lose again!"

Just then, a realization hit Brock right in his face, causing him to smile as he looked towards the boy. "Hey, Ash. Remember what Lt. Surge said about Raichu?"

"How could I not?" Ash grumbled. "He said that Electric Pokémon were only useful when they learn all of their Electric attacks."

Brock's smile remained as he spoke. "Which also means that his Raichu doesn't know Moves that can help it move around quickly. And when you think about it, Pikachu knows two Moves which can help him move around faster than Raichu."

"That's right!" Misty cried, realizing what Brock was trying to say. "Since Raichu evolved straight away, Surge must have got it to forget about its agile Moves like Quick Attack and Agility. Pikachu might still have an advantage!"

"I think I get what you're trying to say," Ash said. "You're telling me that I might still win this if I can come up with a strategy that can out-maneuver Raichu, right?" He received a nod from the two and he smiled. "I see. Then I may just know how I might do this."

At that moment, the door to Pikachu's room opened and the humans turned to face the three Pokémon. Ash picked up the Electric Mouse Pokémon with his smile still on his face. "You feeling better, buddy?"

 **"Much better,"** Pikachu replied, flexing his arms as his cheeks sparked with electricity.

"Great!" Ash said. "Because I have a plan that will help us win. You trust me, right pal?"

Pikachu nodded. **"You're my partner, Ash. I know you'll make the right choice for me. Just tell me everything on the way."**

* * *

"Lt. Surge! I want a rematch!"

The blond man turned around with his arms folded and a smirk on his face. "Oh? What did I tell you, baby boy? You are still too inexperienced to challenge me." His eyes moved down to Ash's side, where he spotted Pikachu glaring at him which made Surge laughed. "And you still haven't evolve your puny, little Pikachu. You didn't bother to take my advice."

Sparks of electricity flew from Pikachu's cheeks which faded when the Electric Mouse Pokémon felt his Trainer's hand patting his head. Ash gave him a reassuring smile before turning to Surge. "I don't care what you say, Surge. Pikachu and I are going to beat you and your Raichu."

"Kids your age are always so stubborn," Surge sighed. "Alright kid, I'll accept your rematch. But you better not disappoint me. Raichu, go!" Grabbing his Pokéball, he tossed it towards the battlefield where Raichu emerged from its capsule.

"Pikachu, let's show them what we can do!"

"Same rule applies to this match," Surge added as his assistant announced the same rules from earlier before he announced the start of the match, which Surge took advantage of as he gave Raichu its first command. "Raichu, charge in and use Body Slam!"

As expected, Raichu did as it was told, lunging towards Pikachu as it leapt into the air, performing a Body Slam.

"Time to use the plan, Pikachu," Ash smirked. "Dodge that Body Slam using Agility!"

Raichu thought it had it in the bag when it saw Pikachu doing nothing, but it was completely taken aback when Pikachu vanished from its sight, appearing all around him as if he was doing a Double Team. Raichu slammed into the floor, groaning in pain as it got back up.

"Quick Attack!"

Before Raichu could recover, Pikachu lunged forward and tackled the final Evolution of himself, leaving a trail of white glow as he continued this for a few more times from different angles.

Seeing his Raichu being attacked, Surge gritted his teeth. "What the heck? Raichu! Why are you getting beaten up by that baby?! Fight back! Use your tail to knock it off balance and follow up with Body Slam!"

The bigger Electric Mouse Pokémon complied to its Trainer's command and swung its tail around at Pikachu, who yelped when he was hit by it, knocking him onto his side as he slid across the ground and tumbled a couple of times.

"Pikachu, you alright?"

 **"That hurt a little…"** Pikachu mumbled as he got back up, only to see a large shadow form underneath him. Regretfully, he looked up and gulped when he saw Raichu falling closer to him. Before he could react, the larger Pokémon had crashed on top of him.

While Ash gasped, Surge smirked. "That's the way, Raichu! Now give that little baby a jolt with a Thunderbolt!"

"Pikachu!"

Electricity engulfed the two Electric Mouse Pokémon. Raichu had a huge grin on its face as it looked down at Pikachu who gritted his teeth from the amount of pain he was feeling from the attack, despite being an Electric Type himself.

"Pikachu's in trouble, Ash," Misty said. "Tell me this isn't part of your plan. Because if it is, it's not a really great plan."

"Not now, Misty!" Ash yelled at her before turning around again. "Pikachu, try to get out of there!"

"Don't bother!" Surge laughed. "Your puny Pikachu won't be able to escape while it's under Raichu's weight. This will be a quick battle as usual. Raichu, give it another Thunderbolt and we'll call it a day."

"Rai~!" The larger Pokémon grunted as it charged itself up, preparing a Thunderbolt attack as it pressed its foot against Pikachu's body. "Rai. Raichu, Rai!"

 **"Oh shut it, ya big fool!"** Pikachu cried, releasing his own Thunderbolt attack at his Evolved form.

"What?" Surge blinked, watching his Raichu flinching as it took a few steps back while falling on its knee. "Raichu, what happened?"

From the sidelines, Brock smiled. "Looks like Pikachu was saving a Thunderbolt attack for that moment. That's quite an interesting thing to do as well. Pikachu gave Raichu excessive electricity thanks to that powerful Thunderbolt which probably made Raichu's own attack to backfire on it."

Misty smiled. "That's some plan. I'm surprise that Ash even thought of it to begin with."

Hearing the compliments from his friends, Ash chuckled. "You hear that, Pikachu? It was a good idea after all. Now let's fight back! Agility, followed by Quick Attack again!"

 **"On it!"** Pikachu replied as his speed began increasing, causing him to dash pass Raichu multiple times as he ran around the larger Pokémon. Though he was still running, Pikachu knew that Raichu was getting nervous and confused.

"Don't show them any weakness, Raichu!" Surge yelled. "Use your tail to attack Pikachu. Swing it around!"

Raichu complied, swinging its tail around in an attempt to knock Pikachu off balance. However, to its disappointment, Pikachu didn't fall for the same trick again. Instead, Pikachu leapt over it. Landing on his feet, Pikachu lunged forward, tackling Raichu from behind.

"Rai!" Cried the larger Pokémon as it fell on its face.

"Get up, Raichu! Mega Punch!"

Ash smirked. "Looks like we're on the right track, Pikachu. Keep on using Quick Attack!"

The smaller Electric Mouse Pokémon complied with his Trainer. As Raichu's arm glowed, it thrust its arm forward at him which he leapt away from, causing Raichu to smash its arm into the ground while Pikachu charged at its side. Once more, Raichu was being dominated by its pre-evolved form as he continuously executed well-timed Quick Attacks.

"This is getting ridiculous, Raichu!" Surge yelled, clenching his fists. "End this already! Thunderbolt now, full power!"

Just like its Trainer, Raichu was irritated by the situation it was in and it gave its Trainer a nod as electricity began forming all over its body. "Rai…Raichu!" Without any warning, lightning bolts emerged from its body, flying in all directions, destroying everything that the bolts of electricity hit as a dust cloud immediately settled in the Gym, reducing visibility to zero.

"That's the way to do it," Surge smirked, expecting to see an unconscious Pikachu lying on the ground from the powerful Thunderbolt attack. However, his smirk faded when the dust cloud was gone. Unlike what he wanted to see, all he saw was his Raichu completely exhausted from using up a lot of energy while Pikachu was completely fine, with his tail in a crack on the ground supporting his weight. "What?"

Though he wasn't the only one who was confused. Like him, his two assistants as well as Misty were completely dumbstruck by what Pikachu had done. Brock, however, was smiling alongside Ash.

"Just as planned, right Brock?"

Brock gave the boy a nod. "Yeah. I knew Surge would have to make Raichu use a strong Thunderbolt at some point of time during the match. So I figured that Pikachu might be in trouble when that happens. Luckily for him, that Thunderbolt attack was transferred through his tail into the ground when that happened."

"So you're telling me that Pikachu was a medium for the electricity to pass through to the ground?" Misty asked, surprised by the idea of such a thing.

"That's right," Brock replied. "Not only that, a full power Thunderbolt uses a lot of electricity, which is why it was only used as a last resort. However, since Pikachu wasn't really damaged by it, Raichu's stamina is now lesser than Pikachu's."

At this, Ash smiled. "Which means that battle is ours for the taking! Pikachu, give it a final Quick Attack!"

Pikachu nodded to his Trainer as he charged forward, leaving behind a trail of white glow as he closed in on Raichu. Seeing him, Surge yelled to his Pokémon to get out of the way. However, Raichu was completely out of energy from the Thunderbolt it used, giving it no chance to evade Pikachu as he slammed into it at full speed, sending Raichu tumbling back to Surge.

"Rai…" Raichu groaned as it collapsed on its back, signifying that it had lost the battle.

Surge's assistant snapped out of his daze as soon as he saw Raichu faint and he immediately raised his hand up. "Raichu is unable to battle! Pikachu wins! The winner of the Gym battle is Ash Ketchum!"

"We did it, Pikachu!" Ash cheered as he ran up to his partner, embracing the Electric Mouse Pokémon. "You won, buddy! I knew you could do it!"

A smile formed on Pikachu's face. **"Of course I won. Who do you think I am?"**

Lt. Surge reached for his pocket and pulled out Raichu's Pokéball. Then, he pointed it at the unconscious Pokémon and recalled it back. "You did a fantastic job, Raichu. You're still stronger than any other babies out there."

Once he put the Pokéball away, he sighed as he turned towards Ash and his friends. He still couldn't believe his eyes had just witnessed. A Pikachu had won against his Raichu? It was unpredictable, but it was impossible. The boy had proved it to him the moment Raichu had fainted and that made him very impressed of the boy.

He approached them as he reached for his pocket. "That was a great battle, Ash." The boy turned to face him as he stopped a few steps away from him. Surge then pulled out a badge from his pocket and stretched his hand out. "As you said, you won the match with Pikachu. A very impressive win. And as a reward for your persistence, I present to you the Thunder Badge."

Ash's eyes widened as he gazed at the badge in Surge's hand. He picked it up and held it tightly in his own hand as he gave his partner a smile. "Looks like we got it, Pikachu."

 **"We sure did, Ash."**

"We got the Thunder Badge!"

* * *

 **Me: That's the end of this chapter.**

 **Arcus: *Nods* One more chapter down, quite a lot more to go. Oh yeah, so what's the announcement that you wanted to make to the viewers? Is it something important?**

 **Me: Yep. As you viewers all know that updates for my stories have been very slow lately. Well, it's going to get slower for the next few months for a few reasons which I hope you guys can understand. By the time this is up on the site, National Examinations here in Singapore will begin for me and many other students across the country who will be taking it. So my time using the computer will be shortened drastically starting next week. The other reason for the slow update is that I've been writing another** **Pokémon story project which I will soon be publishing and will be working on alongside this story and I hope you guys will support it as well! Currently, I've written up to six chapters on it. Once I'm done with the seventh, I'll be putting it up. Here's the title of the upcoming story as well as its summary:**

 **The Different Faces of a Rocket (still deciding on this one though)**

 **Kenta Nogami, a 15 year-old boy who had given up on his journey, arrives in the Kanto region after his mother had decided to move there in an attempt to encourage him to become a** **Pokémon Trainer once more. However, as he returns from visiting Professor Oak, he encounters Giovanni, who gives him a chance to once more be a Trainer. Unfortunately, it wasn't the type of Trainer he was thinking of that Giovanni wanted him to be.**

 **Me: Like I said, this story will be out once the seventh chapter is done. So if you guys have any questions about the fic, feel free to ask. Well, thanks for reading this! Next chapter's estimated time of being posted: unsure.**


	15. Chapter 13: Battle aboard the St Anne

**Chapter 13: Battle aboard the St. Anne**

 **Me: Holy shit...am I back? Am I alive? Was I really studying Engineering for the past six months?! Was it all a dream?!**

 **Arcus: Pitch forks! Pitch forks! Get your pitch forks here! Get your very own pitch fork and stab Cross with it for not updating this story! *Looks at Cross* No, it wasn't a dream. You did study Engineering. *Turns back to crowd* For a limited time, get your very own torch so you can burn him too!**

 **Me: God dammit, Arcus. But yeah, I have no excuse other than studying Engineering, which is a pain in the ass to study and the time in school...it's like an eternity there...**

 **Arcus: Suck it up and get to the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own** **Pokémon but I do own Arcus and any other OCs in this story**

* * *

"Hey Brock, is that the Vermilion Harbor that Lt. Surge was talking about?"

The Pokémon Breeder simply gave the boy a nod as he walked alongside him. "That's it alright. He was right about the ships too. There're so many of them docked here today! We were lucky to stay the night at the Pokémon Center."

 _"You kids should stay the night,"_ the Vermilion Gym Leader had said the previous day. _"Heading over to the harbor and seeing the many ships will be breathtaking, especially in the morning."_

As they approached the harbor, Misty couldn't help but squeal in delight when her eyes spotted the dozens of ships. She gently squeezed her Squirtle, who was feeling slightly uncomfortable with its Trainer's excitement. "Can you just imagine it, guys? Us, on board one of those magnificent ships, having the time of our lives at the open seas and all the Water Type Pokémon we'll encounter!"

The boys sweat dropped at their friend's enthusiasm and ignored her as they continued on their way towards the harbor.

* * *

Jessie smiled as she watched James, disguised as a sailor, talking to another Pokémon Trainer. The Trainer had looked promising for them as he had a Growlithe with him and the two didn't want to risk missing a chance to steal it.

"Yes, young man," James had said to the Trainer. "The St. Anne is having a very exclusive party for Pokémon Trainers such as yourself! The best part is, it's free! All you have to do is show us the Pokémon you have with you."

Excited, the Trainer brought out two more Pokéballs from his belt and tossed them up, releasing the Pokémon in the capsules. "Well, I have my Growlithe, Sandslash and a Hitmonlee. Does that get me an entry for the party?"

The two disguised Team Rocket members nodded to each other as they examined the three Pokémon in front of them. They didn't admit it, but they were impressed by the Hitmonlee the most. The Kicking Fiend looked to be well-groomed judging from its cleanliness and from its build, the two could tell that the Trainer had trained it very well. It was the perfect Pokémon for them to steal for their boss.

Jessie turned to the Trainer and reached for her pocket, pulling out a ticket. "We're impressed by your Pokémon. It's been quite a while since we've crossed paths with a good Trainer like you. Here's your ticket for the party. Enjoy!"

"Thanks a lot!" The Trainer replied as he accepted the ticket and recalled his Sandslash and Hitmonlee. As he picked up his Growlithe, he took off towards his new destination, the St. Anne.

Meowth emerged from the bushes and he dusted the leaves off his body as he approached them. "Looks like we got another one in the bag. So how many Trainers do we have on the St. Anne right now?"

"Including that kid, I would say over a hundred and fifty," James replied as he flicked his hair to the side.

"Considering how much money the boss spent on the ship and for everything else, he'll be expecting quite a lot of Pokémon," Jessie added. "Of course he will get them. As long as everything goes according to plan, we'll be alright."

The two boys in the team gave her a nod as she looked around, hoping to find their next target.

* * *

"It looks beautiful!" Misty gushed as she gawked at the ship in front of her.

Ash and Brock gave nods of agreement to her as Ash looked up at the ship. "I'd love to cross the ocean on a ship like this. Don't you agree, Brock?"

"Yeah," Brock replied. "I'm sure we'll be able to see all kinds of Water Pokémon while we're on a ship like this. You two could probably train your Squirtle on it too, if it has a battlefield to use."

"For sure!" Misty said. "Every cruise ship has at least two battlefields on them. That way, Trainers could still train their Pokémon even if they're relaxing and enjoying themselves. But I would rather prefer sunbathing on the deck all day. Just a nice, relaxing cruise."

"Too bad we can't afford a cruise like that," Brock added.

Instantly, the mood fell as they hung their heads low and walked away, feeling depressed. Thanks to Brock's reality check, they realized that having a chance to be on board a cruise ship would be close to zero percent for them, considering how much they have with them. Of course, carrying over ten Pokémon with them can really tighten the budget on what they could spend their money on.

All of a sudden, a pair of party poppers went off in front of them, catching the three of them by surprise as Pikachu nearly fell off Ash's shoulder while Arcus flinched from the sudden noise which had startled him.

"Congratulations, kids!" A blue-haired sailor grinned as he tossed his party popper aside and spread his arms open to them. "You three are our lucky winners!"

Once Ash had calmed Arcus down, he gave the sailor a confused look. "Winners? What are you even talking about?"

Beside the sailor, his brunet partner chuckled, which for some reason had sounded a bit feminine as he spoke to them. "We're talking about the special, exclusive Pokémon Trainer party we're having on the St. Anne!"

"A party for Trainers?" Misty repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Lt. Surge didn't say anything about a party being held on any ships today."

The brunet smirked. "Well of course he hasn't heard of it. The party is a surprise that we give to Trainers in Vermilion City. Rich or not, any Trainer who has at least one amazing Pokémon that we might like will be allowed to enter the party. Guess what? You three are candidates for our last three tickets!"

"Really?!" The three asked.

Nodding, the blue-haired sailor spoke. "Yes. All you have to do is show us the Pokémon you have. If we see that you have an amazing Pokémon, then the tickets are yours."

"But I don't think that would be necessary," the brunet said, eyeing Arcus. "That's a Pokémon that I've never seen before. It's such a rare thing to see nowadays. Since you three are together, this little guy's rarity could well be your luck because you three deserve the tickets for showing it to us!"

As the sailors handed the tickets to them, they walked off in a hurry, leaving the three in awe at receiving the tickets. In an instant, Misty snatched the Baby Pokémon from Ash and she gave him a tight hug while repeatedly saying "Thank you!" to him, much to Arcus's confusion as he tilted his head slightly, but who was he to complain from a hug?

* * *

Once James and Jessie were out of sight from them, they removed their disguises to reveal their Team Rocket uniform as Meowth emerged from the bushes. Jessie sighed as she removed her wig, letting her pink hair pop out. "I hope I don't have to dress like a guy anymore. My voice can't go that deep, you know."

"Relax, my dear Jessie," James said. "We just needed to do that so we could fool the twerps, remember? It was a stroke of luck that they happened to be in Vermilion City today and just so happened to have come to the harbor."

"Yeah, Jess," Meowth added. "Now that they are going to the 'party', we might finally snatch that Pikachu and that Baby Pokémon. We'll need to get to the St. Anne right away too. I was told that the boss wants us to regroup on the ship for a final briefing before we set sail."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Jessie said as she picked up the talking Pokémon and ran towards the St. Anne with James right behind her. Fortunately for them, most of the people on the harbor were already on the ship. The only ones left on the harbor were the twerps, who were still looking around for the St. Anne, as well as other disguised Team Rocket members who were acting as sentries.

The St. Anne quickly came into view and they boarded it. They were immediately greeted by a Grunt who gave them a salute. "The boss is about to call."

"Good work," Jessie replied with a nod. "We just handed out our last three tickets to a bunch of twerps. They should be here soon. Make sure they stay on board too. They have an extremely rare Pokémon that the boss might like to have."

With a final salute from the Grunt, the three hurried towards the upper deck where the meeting room was.

As soon as they reached it, they were immediately greeted by a screen which displayed the image of a middle-aged man wearing an orange business suit with his right leg across the other. Much to Meowth's displeasure, a Persian was resting its head his lap.

"Damn that Persian…" Meowth muttered to himself as he and his teammates saluted to the man.

"Have the tickets been given out?" The man asked, ignoring their salutes as he stroked the Persian's fur. The three replied to him and he could only smile. "Perfect. Our plan is going according to plan."

James nodded. "Yes, Giovanni. But was it alright to give the tickets out for free?"

"A small price to pay for what I'll get in return," Giovanni replied. "I've debriefed the rest of the crew on what to do later. Now it's your turn. Listen closely. Once the St. Anne is out in the open sea, we shall begin the next phase of the plan. Make sure the passengers remain in the venue and when the time comes, your job is to blend in with the Trainers and when the captain cuts off the lights, steal their Pokémon. Once that is done, get out as fast as you can and return to Headquarters to deliver the Pokémon."

"So we're doing a snatch-and-go, huh?" Jessie mused, earning a nod from Giovanni as she saluted to him again. "We won't fail you this time, sir!"

Giovanni narrowed his eyes on the three and scoffed. "Words mean less than action. If you want to prove to me that you're still useful, then make sure to deliver the Pokémon. I expect perfection." With that, he cut off the transmission, causing the screen to show statics instead.

A sigh of relief escaped their lips as they eased up.

"The boss must have heard of our problem with the twerps," James said.

"That's not the important thing now, James," Jessie retorted. "We have a mission to finish and that's what we're doing. Let's go get ready. The twerps should be on the ship by now."

"You're right, Jessie," James replied with a smirk. "And this time, that Baby Pokémon and Pikachu will finally be in our hands! I can't wait to see the looks on the twerps' faces when they realize that we've stolen their precious Pokémon."

Meowth, however, frowned as he folded his arms. "Yeah, but if we want to get those two, we'll have to get rid of that Beedrill bodyguard that's always with the baby."

James chuckled and gave the talking Pokémon a pat on the head. "Don't worry about that. I've got a plan for it so don't you worry that furry little head of yours, Meowth. You'll see."

* * *

"So this must be the St. Anne," Ash said as he and the others stopped to look at the cruise ship in front of them. "This ship looks so awesome!"

"Couldn't agree more, Ash," Misty nodded, sharing the boy's enthusiasm as they began climbing the flight of stairs up to the ship. "I'd like to travel around the whole world in this!"

Once they got to the top of the ship, they were greeted by a steward who gave the three a bow. "Welcome aboard the St. Anne. May I see your tickets, please?" In response, the three flashed their tickets for him, much to his delight. "Ah, I see you three are also here for the party we have for Pokémon Trainers. In that case, please follow me and I shall bring you to the party's venue."

As they walked, the steward eyed Arcus and a thought ran through his mind. _"Now I see why those three invited these kids. The boss would surely like to have such a rare Pokémon in his possession. Pity these brats will never see it again after today."_

"Excuse me, but may I ask you, how many other Trainers are there in the party?" Misty asked, turning her attention to the steward who smiled back.

"Well, miss, there are more than a hundred Pokémon Trainers who are currently in the party as we speak. In fact, you three are very lucky since you hold the last three tickets that we can provide. You three must feel glad."

A smile formed on Misty's face as she hugged her Squirtle tighter, much to its displeasure. "Of course we are! This is a once in a lifetime chance! I'm so glad we came to Vermilion City."

"Yeah, for my badge," Ash reminded, grinning at the Thunder Badge on his vest.

"Then I hope you three enjoy yourselves and have a wonderful time," the steward said as he stopped in front of a door and opened it, gesturing for them to enter. "Here we are, enjoy the party. The ship will be embarking soon so please, remain in here."

"Alright! Thanks a lot!" Ash exclaimed as he flashed a smile to the steward and ran into the room, followed by Misty, Brock and Beedrill.

As soon as they entered the room, they couldn't help but gasped in awe at the sight of the room. Just the mere size of the room was enough to make Ash's jaw drop. The fact that the room even had stairs to an upper level had convinced him that this party was going to be great. Souvenir shops, food stalls, not to mention even battlefields for Pokémon battles, this party was already paradise for Ash and probably even for the others as Misty had her eyes set at the merchandises she saw while Brock was blushing up a storm upon seeing the amount of women in the room.

"It's like a giant Pokémon convention!" Ash said as he began walking pass the various stalls around him with his friends by his side. "This place is so huge! I wonder where we can start."

Misty grinned. "I have an idea, guys. How about we split up for now. We'll take our time around the place then maybe we can meet back up at the food stalls. We still haven't had our lunch, remember?"

Instantly, Brock furiously nodded with his blush deepening. "I agree with Misty! We'll meet back at the food stalls for lunch after we're done with what we want for the party. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date with destiny!"

Without any warning, Brock sprinted away from them, cheering while completely being oblivious to the stares he was receiving all around him as Ash and Misty sweat dropped at the Breeder's action. Misty waved to Ash as she began walking towards a stall. "See you later Ash. I'm going to see if I can find something nice for Squirtle."

Once Misty was out of sight, Ash gave a smile to the three Pokémon with him. "Looks like it's just us now. Let's head to the battlefields. Maybe we'll be able to find ourselves someone to battle. What do you say?"

 **"Sounds good to me, partner,"** Pikachu replied from Ash's shoulder.

Beedrill gave a simple nod to the boy. He may not like the human, but he couldn't deny that watching battles were entertaining when it comes to seeing the boy battle other Trainers.

Of course, Arcus, still being a baby, had no idea what was going on, but from the excited look his fellow Pokémon were showing, he had guessed that it would be fun too. So, Arcus gave Ash a soft bark-like noise which the boy had guessed was a 'yes'.

"Alright then, let's go!"

* * *

To say that the Team Rocket trio were happy was an understatement. In fact, as soon as they saw the amount of Pokémon Trainers in the room, they became incredibly giddy and shivered from the excitement they felt. At the moment, Jessie and James had dropped their previous disguises and were now disguised as a wealthy-looking couple while Meowth was at Jessie's side, acting like any ordinary Meowth.

"This better be worth the humiliation…" Meowth grumbled quietly.

"Don't worry about it all, Meowth," Jessie smiled at her teammate. "Just endure it for another hour. Once the plan begins, we'll make quick work of the Pokémon and get out. The boss will be happy to receive all these Pokémon when this is all over."

James let out a chuckle, adjusting his fake glasses as he turned to Meowth. "Yes, remember why you're even doing this, Meowth. When the boss knows of how well you've done in this mission, he might reconsider that Persian of his and make you his favorite."

When the boss was mentioned, Meowth's ears instantly perked up and his eyes sparkled, filled with determination as the three began making their way towards the crowd of people.

* * *

Giovanni chuckled to himself as he stared out of the window of his office with a smirk on his face. By his side, his Persian purred as he stroked the top of its head before he turned around and made his way back to his desk.

His eyes moved to watch the clock on the wall. _"In just an hour more, all those foolish people will lose their Pokémon and I'll profit from it. The plan had better not fail,"_ thought Giovanni as he reminisced on his plan.

It was fairly simple. Once he had purchased the St. Anne discreetly, he would make full use of it by hosting the Pokémon Trainer party, which would draw in his naïve preys when he made the tickets for the party free. After all, who could resist a free pass on board one of the most luxurious cruise ship in Kanto? Once all the tickets had been given out, he would immediately have the ship set sail and when they were far away from land, the next part of the plan will begin.

The members of Team Rocket who were involved in the plan were ordered to disguise as stewards and stewardess to serve their 'guests' while a select few were to disguise themselves as Pokémon Trainers who had received the tickets. The former's objective were to keep the Trainers all happy and satisfied so that when the time comes, they would be taken by surprise while the latter's objective were to mark out the various rare and powerful Pokémon which would be rather easy thanks to the battlefields in the room which could help them when the Trainers decide to battle.

When it was time, he would order the captain of the ship, who was also a Team Rocket member, to cut off the entire ship's power, which will cause a blackout. At that moment, he would have all Team Rocket members steal the Pokémon from right under the Trainers' noses and to immediately retreat once it was done.

Of course, having the ship full of Trainers drift aimlessly on the ocean would be troublesome for him as well. After all, if by chance, the ship was discovered, he would be in serious trouble. Giovanni knew for a fact that the previous owner of the St. Anne was nothing more than a snobbish coward who would do anything to protect himself using money. If the police were to find him, that coward would put the blame on him, saying that the Team Rocket's boss was now the rightful owner of the ship. Since that man also knew Giovanni's face, he would be discovered almost instantly. For that, he had to dispose of them.

Once the Team Rocket members were all gone from the ship, they were to destroy the ship by sinking it to stage it as an accident at sea. That way, nothing will be directed back to him and he would still be safe. A foolproof plan at the cost of a small price.

Giovanni leaned back on his chair, musing to himself as he awaited for the time to arrive.

* * *

Ash couldn't help but awe at the battles he was watching as he approached the battlefield. On all three battlefields, the Pokémon battling were radiating with strength as they collided with each other, much to the audience's delight.

One particular battle had caught Ash's attention. It was a battle between a Raticate and a Starmie.

"Raticate, use Hyper Fang!"

Upon hearing its Trainer's command, the Raticate lunged at the starfish-like Pokémon and bore its fangs at it. Before Starmie could react, Raticate's fangs had clenched down on it and tightened, preventing Starmie from moving away.

"How'd you like that, kid?" Raticate's Trainer, who donned a black suit complemented with a top hat, smugly asked the Trainer of the Starmie, who looked to be an average young teenage boy.

"Not bad, old man," the boy chuckled. "But too bad you didn't see this coming. Starmie, Water Gun inside Raticate's mouth!"

The Mysterious Pokémon's gem glowed for a moment before fading away, complying with its Trainer as a burst of water flooded the Mouse Pokémon's mouth which caused its cheek to swell before it released its hold of Starmie. The starfish-like Pokémon saw its opportunity and took it, spewing more water into the Raticate's mouth as it propelled Starmie away to a safe distance.

"That was a wonderful counter attack," Raticate's Trainer said. "But let's see how long it can last. Raticate, use Double Team!"

With the water out of its mouth, Raticate glared at Starmie as copies of the Mouse Pokémon began to surround the Mysterious Pokémon. However, Starmie's Trainer could only scoff. "A Double Team won't scare my Starmie! Use Tackle and add Water Gun to it! We need to get rid of those fakes."

Starmie complied as it began rotating its body above the floor. Then, from the tip of its limbs, Starmie released its Water Gun attack all around it, destroying the duplicates of Raticate as the real one was forced to move out of the way.

"That attack won't stop us! Raticate, use Super Fang to immobilize Starmie and then finish it with Thunderbolt!"

"Wh-what?!"

Before Starmie could retaliate, Raticate had sunk its teeth into Starmie, restraining it as electricity started building up in the Mouse Pokémon. Then, Raticate released it, causing Starmie's gem to flicker continuously as it was being electrocuted.

For a whole minute, everyone was silent.

All eyes were on Starmie and its Trainer, as if they were expecting the Mysterious Pokémon and its Trainer to come up with a counter plan for this turn of event. However, all they got was a look of shock from the Trainer while Starmie fell unconscious as it slipped out of Raticate's grip. The Mouse Pokémon had won.

Cheers instantly erupted as Raticate's Trainer smiled proudly at his Pokémon. "A job well done, Raticate. All that training paid off, didn't it?" The Mouse Pokémon nodded cheerfully at its Trainer as it returned to his side.

Starmie's Trainer let out a sigh as he walked over to his unconscious Pokémon. He gently stroked Starmie and smiled weakly at it. "You did your best pal. That's all I ever asked of you." As he returned his Pokémon to its Pokéball, he turned his attention towards his opponent. "That was a great battle. Your Raticate's really strong."

"Why of course, young man," Raticate's Trainer smiled. "Raticate and I have been together for many years, so of course it's been well trained. But from what I've seen, you and your Starmie are already strong too. You've definitely trained your Pokémon well, boy. Keep on training your Starmie's strength and maybe one day, you might make a name for yourself."

With a grateful nod, Starmie's Trainer turned and left while Raticate's Trainer remained, looking towards the crowd. "Is there anyone else who would like to challenge my Raticate?"

Ash looked at Pikachu, who gave him a nod which Ash was thankful for as he placed Arcus down next to the Mouse Pokémon while Beedrill hovered closer to the two Pokémon as Ash stepped forward to face the Trainer. "My Pokémon and I would like a battle."

"Isn't that splendid?" The Trainer smiled. "Now what would your Pokémon be, young man?"

Ash brought out Bulbasaur's Pokéball and smirked. "I'm sure my Bulbasaur can give your Raticate a challenge. Come on out, Bulbasaur!" The Seed Pokémon emerged from his capsule and stared at the Raticate, already knowing what was going on from what he heard when he was in his Pokéball.

"You must have seen my Raticate use his Thunderbolt," the Trainer guessed. "No matter. My Raticate has beaten many Bulbasaur before, so yours probably won't make a difference but I'll give it a shot. First one to faint loses, sounds good to you?"

"That sounds alright," Ash replied. "Then I'll go first. Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf."

Leaves shot forward from Bulbasaur and flew straight towards Raticate, who awaited its Trainer's order. "Raticate, dodge it and use your Hyper Fang!" The Mouse Pokémon nodded and leapt away from the leaves before lunging forward with its teeth ready to strike.

"Bulbasaur, grab it with Vine Whip!"

The Seed Pokémon did as he was told and let his vines out, wrapping around Raticate before lifting it up in the air as Ash's voice was heard again. "Throw it and use Razor Leaf again!" He did so, tossing the Mouse Pokémon high up as more leaves shot out from Bulbasaur, heading straight towards Raticate.

"Raticate, use Thunderbolt on those leaves and then dive down with your Hyper Fang!"

Electricity emitted from its body as Raticate launched a bolt at the leaves, vaporizing them as it then dived down towards Bulbasaur with its fangs out again.

"Use Vine Whip to knock it off course and then use Tackle!"

Bulbasaur nodded to Ash as his vines swung to the side, knocking Raticate away from its path as it crashed into the floor, leaving behind a small crater as the Seed Pokémon then charged forward and slammed right into Raticate, sending it flying out of the crater.

"Raticate! Get a hold of yourself! Use Thunderbolt!"

Raticate's eyes opened and narrowed slightly at Bulbasaur as its body began charging up more electricity and released it at the Seed Pokémon who leapt up to avoid it. Without a command from Ash, Bulbasaur fired off a Razor Leaf attack that struck the Mouse Pokémon.

"Snap out of it, Raticate! Use Double Team and Hyper Fang!"

It did just that, dodging the last few leaves and proceeding to form duplicates of itself before lunging once more at Bulbasaur, who steadied himself as Raticate and its copies bore their teeth at him. That was when Ash spoke again with a smirk.

"Sweep them with Vine Whip." The vines appeared once more, swinging at the copies and dispelling them as the real Raticate was knocked to the side again by one of Bulbasaur's vines. "Now use Tackle one more time!"

Before Raticate or its Trainer could do anything, Bulbasaur slammed into the Mouse Pokémon, sending it flying towards its Trainer who fell on his back when his Pokémon crashed into him. As the two fell, the crowd cheered loudly for Ash who smiled back and waved at them as he picked up Bulbasaur. "You did great, pal."

 **"Of course I did, what did you expect?"**

Ash chuckled as he returned the Seed Pokémon back into his capsule before placing it back on his belt as he went back to pick up Arcus while Pikachu climbed back up onto his shoulder and Beedrill hovered closely to them as they walked off. "That was fun, huh guys?"

Pikachu shrugged. **"Fun for you. I didn't get to battle. But I'm definitely starving. Who knew watching a battle can work up a guy's appetite. I wonder what the others are doing too."**

"We'll just have to find out."

* * *

 **Me: The ending's rushed, I admit that. But I'm already behind the time limit since my holiday's almost over and of course, story ideas piling up in my mind that I have to write down to get rid before I can focus on this again.**

 **Arcus: That's right, folks. Get ready for some action in the next chapter! The** **Pokémon are about to go wild!**


End file.
